Monday, October 25, 2021
Attempted coup against Hamdok
Military besieged home of Sudan’s head of government
After weeks of tension between the military and the civil transitional government in Sudan, gunmen arrest several senior government officials. The Prime Minister is also placed under house arrest. Meanwhile, protests break out across the country.
In Sudan there has apparently been another attempted coup from the ranks of the military. Prime Minister Abdullah Hamdok was placed under house arrest. An unidentified military unit was besieging his home, Al Hadath TV reported, citing people familiar with the matter. Family members of the head of state told Reuters news agency that armed forces stormed Hamdok’s media advisor’s house and arrested the prime minister there in the early hours of the morning.
In addition, gunmen are said to have arrested other members of the government. The arrests took place in their homes, it is said from government circles. As reported by AFP journalists, the Internet was shut down across the country. Protesters gathered and blocked roads in the capital, Khartoum.
In the past few weeks there had been repeated protests by various groups in the African country. One side called for the establishment of a civilian government and the other for the military to dismiss the incumbent transitional government.
Fragile transition phase
In Sudan, after the overthrow of the long-term authoritarian ruler Omar al-Bashir in April 2019, a so-called Sovereign Council took over the affairs of state, in which the military and civilians share power. Since then, the country has been in a fragile transition phase that should end with the establishment of a civilian government in 2023. High inflation, economic difficulties and deep political divisions exacerbate the situation.
In the past few months, the incumbent transitional government had launched a series of economic reforms in order to qualify for debt relief from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). In the course of the reforms, among other things, state subsidies for fuel were cut. Other measures also led to a massive loss of confidence in the transitional government.