Sudan blames Al Bashir camp for failed coup, arrests 21 army officers
PM: PLOTTERS CAME FROM INSIDE AND OUTSIDE MILITARY
Sudanese authorities said they had foiled an attempted coup yesterday, accusing plotters loyal to ousted president Omar Al Bashir of a failed bid to derail the revolution that removed him from power in 2019 and ushered in a transition to democracy.
Sudan’s military said 21 officers and several soldiers had been detained, and a search continued for others. All affected locations are under army control, it added.
A ruling body known as the Sovereign Council has run Sudan under a fragile powersharing deal between the military and civilians since the overthrow of Al Bashir.
“What happened is an orchestrated coup by factions inside and outside the armed forces and this is an extension of the attempts by remnants since the fall of the former regime to abort the civilian democratic transition,” Prime Minister Abdullah Hamdok said in a televised statement.
“This attempt was preceded by extensive preparations represented by lawlessness in the cities and the exploitation of the situation in the East of the country, attempts to close national roads and ports and block oil production.”
Streets appear calm
The streets of the capital Khartoum appeared calm, with people moving around normally, a witness said.
Early yesterday, a witness said military units loyal to the council had used tanks to close a bridge connecting Khartoum with Omdurman, just across the River Nile. A government source said plotters had tried to take control of state radio in Omdurman. The suspected instigators of the coup attempt had been arrested and were being interrogated, government spokesman Hamza Balol said on state TV, adding that the last pockets of rebellion at Al Shajara camp in south Khartoum were being dealt with.
The leader of the coup was the commander of the Armored Corps based there, Maj Gen Abdalbagi Alhassan Othman Bakrawi, who worked with 22 other officers, defence minister Lt Gen Yasin Ebrahim said.
On a visit to the camp shortly afterwards Sudan’s top military leader, Abdul Fattah Al Burhan, condemned the coup attempt, saying it could have had “catastrophic consequences on the unity of the army, the military and the country.” “We want to take this country and hand it over to the public will, to free and fair elections,” he told troops.
The US, Britain and Norway as well as the UN, stressed their support for democratic transition. “The United Nations condemns any attempt — whether a coup or otherwise — to undermine the democratic political transition process,” the UN envoy to Sudan said in a statement.
Underlining Western support for the transitional authorities, the Paris Club of official creditors agreed in July to cancel $14 billion of Sudan’s debt.
What happened is an orchestrated coup by factions inside and outside the armed forces and this is an extension of the attempts by remnants since the fall of the former regime to abort the civilian democratic transition.”
Abdullah Hamdok | Sudan’s Prime Minister