Sudanese acting Prime Minister, Abdallah Hamdok, was on Monday reportedly placed under house arrest by a group of an unidentified military force, local television station Al Hadath TV is reporting.
The move against Mr Hamdok followed the military forces’ arrest of top civilian officials including cabinet ministers, the prime minister’s media adviser and a member of the country’s ruling sovereign council.
The reported military takeover also came with the disruption of communication lines and a crackdown on the internet as well as blocked bridges in the capital Khartoum, the country’s information ministry said, describing the actions as a coup.
Those detained are Ibrahim al-Sheikh, minister of industry; Hamza Baloul, minister of information; Mohammed al-Fiky Suliman, member of the sovereign council; and Faisal Mohammed Saleh, media adviser to the prime minister, All-Africa reported.
Ayman Khalid, governor of the state containing Khartoum, was also arrested, according to the official Facebook page of his office.
Thousands of demonstrators have flooded the streets of Khartoum and its twin city of Omdurman to protest the apparent military takeover, according to Bloomberg.
Sudan has been on the edge as it grapples with a deep political crisis that trailed the toppling of the long-standing president, Omar al-Bashir, in 2019.
Since then, the military and civilian groups have been sharing power in the African country in what Reuters described as “an uneasy alliance.”
Only about ten days ago, thousands of pro-military demonstrators gathered in front of the presidential palace in Khartoum, chanting “down with the government of hunger.”
Last month, a coup attributed to forces loyal to Mr al-Bashir was foiled in the country with military leaders demanding reforms.
By every inch of it, the development would be a major setback for Sudan as the transition government of Mr Hamdok was propped up in August 2019 after Mr al-Bashir’s ouster; to oversee an election by 2022.
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