Click to see full-size image
On October 25th, Sudan’s military launched a coup attempt, it’s second since 2019.
The military arrested prime minister Abdalla Hamdok and other senior ministers during overnight raids.
Thousands immediately took to the streets of Khartoum to protest.
This coup attempt was the result of weeks of tensions between military and civilian members of the country’s transitional sovereign council, and rival street protests.
Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok was detained and moved to an undisclosed location after refusing to issue a statement in support of the coup, the information ministry said.
Joint military forces holding Hamdok under house arrest were pressuring him to issue a supportive statement, it said.
Military forces stormed Sudanese Radio and Television headquarters in Omdurman, the twin city of Khartoum, and arrested employees, the information ministry said on its Facebook page.
Khartoum airport was shut and international flights were suspended.
The Sudanese Ministry of Information reported that firearms were used against demonstrators near the headquarters of the Ministry of Defense in the capital Khartoum.
Disturbing reports coming in from #Sudan 🇸🇩 saying that civilian leaders have been detained by military. Political transition in country has been attempting to undo damage of decades of dictatorship; it’s of huge concern if progress to date is overturned: https://t.co/UDek9mX8yT
— Helen Clark (@HelenClarkNZ) October 25, 2021
#Sudan is facing a full military coup, the information ministry says, urging the immediate release of all detainees. The Sudanese people should try to stop the military’s efforts to block democratic transition, it added in a statement to Reuters.https://t.co/mX4Qhl5aSt pic.twitter.com/cEEF098Mrm
— Al Arabiya English (@AlArabiya_Eng) October 25, 2021
The military had stirred unrest in eastern Sudan and used the crisis to implement a coup against the government of Hamdok, the director of his office said.
The takeover happened in spite of an agreement Hamdok had reached with the head of a ruling council, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, in the presence of U.S. special envoy Jeffrey Feltman.
In a statement sent to Reuters, the ministry asked Sudanese “to block the military’s movements to block the democratic transition”.
“We raise our voices loudly to reject this coup attempt,” it said.
According to preliminary information, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the chairman of the Sovereign Council of Sudan, will make an address to the nation soon.
Ayman Khalid, governor of the state containing the capital, Khartoum, was also arrested, according to the official Facebook page of his office.
The Umma Party, the country’s largest, described the arrests as an attempted coup, and called for people to take to the streets.
The SPA, the main activist coalition in the uprising against Bashir, called on supporters to mobilize.
“We urge the masses to go out on the streets and occupy them, close all roads with barricades, stage a general labour strike, and not to cooperate with the putschists and use civil disobedience to confront them,” the group said in a statement on Facebook.
Sudan’s main pro-democratic political group, the Sudanese Professionals’ Association, said at least five senior government officials had been detained, and called on people to take to the street to counter the apparent coup action.
The European Union’s foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell said the bloc expressed its “utmost concern”.
“The EU calls on all stakeholders and regional partners to put back on track the transition process,” Borrell said.
Sudan has been on edge since a failed coup plot last month unleashed bitter recriminations between military and civilian groups meant to be sharing power following the 2019 ouster of former leader Omar al-Bashir.
Bashir was toppled and jailed after months of street protests. A political transition agreed after his ouster has seen Sudan emerge from its isolation under three decades of rule by Bashir and was meant to lead to elections by the end of 2023.
US Special Envoy Feltman, who was visiting Sudan on October 23rd and 24th, said the United States was deeply alarmed at reports of a military takeover of the transitional government in Sudan.
Special Envoy Feltman: The US is deeply alarmed at reports of a military take-over of the transitional government. This would contravene the Constitutional Declaration and the democratic aspirations of the Sudanese people and is utterly unacceptable. (1/2)
— Bureau of African Affairs (@AsstSecStateAF) October 25, 2021
As we have said repeatedly, any changes to the transitional government by force puts at risk U.S. assistance. (2/2)
— Bureau of African Affairs (@AsstSecStateAF) October 25, 2021
As a result, it is interesting that the coup happens just days after the US representative met with the civilian leaders and guaranteed that Sudan’s democracy would be supported.
In a statement after the meeting with Feltman, Burhan praised American support for Sudan’s transition to democracy and said the military was keen to protect that transition.
However, Burhan as the de-facto leader of the country also met with Feltman and discussed the developments.
As an economic crisis deepens, a coalition of rebel groups and political parties have aligned themselves with the military, which has accused the civilian governing parties of mismanagement and monopolizing power, and are seeking to dissolve the Cabinet.
In response, hundreds of thousands demonstrated in several parts of Khartoum and other cities against the prospect of military rule. Several Cabinet ministers took part.
It is noteworthy that much of the protests were against the civilian government officials and in support of actually returning military rule. As a result, Sudan now is divided by those who support the military rule and those that oppose it.
In September, Sudan’s military claimed that it thwarted an alleged coup attempt by a group of officers.
MORE ON THE TOPIC:
We need to see if this coup is pro-Russian or pro-Turkish.
It is pro-Turkish no doubt. Burhan visited Turkey just days before this successful coup. https://www.aa.com.tr/en/africa/sudan-says-burhan-s-visit-to-turkey-to-expand-cooperation/2334769 Burhan is an ally of Bashir and one of his loyalists in the military. You can see that Turkey has been quite about the coup but the Arab League, U.S, and EU condemn it. All of the agreements with Turkey during Al-Bashir will be revived. Russia can kiss any influence in Sudan good bye. There’s no Muslim country that wants to be pro-Russian today. After Russia’s thuggish bombing of Syrian civilians, the Muslim world hates Russia as much or even more than it hates America. The only people who love Russia are Shiites – excluding the Azerbaijanis.
This is a Muslim Brotherhood coup. Insha Allah, the next one will be in Egypt
The funny thing is that Bashir was not against Assad. Also, the Shia islamic regimes of Iraq and Iran and the Pakis were pro-Assad. Funny alliances.
Anyway, Turkey should stop the insanity and repent before it is too late!
Bashir was pro-Assad until Turkey became squarely against Assad. Pakistan is the most pro-Turkish country on Earth. Bashir was pro-Assad because Assad was/is anti-America, not because Bashir loved Russia.
Russia can continue its competition with Turkey for influence in Muslim countries, but we both know what the result will be.
Russia’s only allies are the hypocrites, dictators, and tyrants in the Muslim world. but these people are getting fewer and weaker and it’ll continue like this until we defeat them (enemies within). And then we’ll see if Russia gets a leg to stand on.
Before it’s too late? Turkey isn’t afraid of Russia even for a second. There’s no conventional weaponry with which Russia can intimidate Turkey. It’s more likely the other way round. And talking about nukes, Turkey has Pakistan’s nuclear umbrella for now, but the Turkish nukes are on the way. Let the economic re-positioning from Europe towards Africa and Asia complete. Turkish leaders won’t hide their nuclear program like Iran. They’ll announce to the world that they are building a nuclear arsenal and whoever wants to stop it can try, and that includes Russia.
Yeah maybe but all these countries are anti-US now. But after US are gone new alliances will be formed.
Russia is a U.S ally against Islam in general. They’ll rather have America dominate the Muslim countries than Turkey. Because they don’t want a rebirth of the Islamic Khalifa. Russians fear a Kaliphate 10 times more than they fear a world dominated by America. The alliances you are talking about is too complex, but I think Russia will have a harder time influencing future governments in Muslim countries. This is due to Russia’s documented crimes in Syria.
Russian air supports come at the cost of significant civilian casualties. That means Russia is bound to have fewer allies in the Muslim world, not even Iran. But we’ve seen how Turkish drones produce a relatively negligible effect on civilians in both the Armenian and Libyan wars. Countries will be more cautious about inviting Russian aerospace forces for help because the more civilian casualties, the more a regime loses popularity. Only people like Sisi, MBS, and MBZ may accept such consequences because they are tyrants and heartless (look at Yemen, Egypt’s massacre, UAE’s support for all these crimes). Turkey is busy building bridges with African countries to secure a stronger economic foothold in case of future U.S sanctions, especially when Turkey finally decides to go nuclear. Turkey needs a nuclear arsenal to be able to unite many Muslim countries under a NATO-like treaty.
I know about these subjects. Turkey will bring Gog Magog alliance.