Sudanese authorities revealed they had foiled an attempted coup on Tuesday, blamed on 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 a number of soldiers had been detained in connection to the coup attempt, and a search is being sustained for others. The military also said all affected locations are currently under army control. Sudan’s Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok, who noted that Tuesday’s coup attempt was organised by elements in and outside military establishment, said previous attempts to create insecurity, especially in the country’s east, had been made in the past. Hamdok said: “For the first time, people involved in the attempt were arrested… They are being interviewed to discover their intentions and the truth behind this. There is a special committee investigating what has happened.” Hamdok said that Monday’s coup attempt was preceded by others attempting to create insecurity, especially in the east of Sudan.
“What happened in this coup attempt, is an extension of previous attempts against the Transitional Council… They tried to take advantage of the situation in different towns by closing ports and roads… tried to stop us from moving forward during this transitional period,” he added.
Sudan is currently governed by a transitional government composed of both civilian and military representatives that was installed in the aftermath of Bashir’s April 2019 overthrow and is tasked with overseeing a return to full civilian rule.
The August 2019 power-sharing deal originally provided for the formation of a legislative assembly during a three-year transition, but that period was reset when Sudan signed a peace deal with an alliance of rebel groups last October.
More than two years later, the country remains plagued by chronic economic problems inherited from the Bashir regime as well as deep divisions among the various factions steering the transition.
