Coup Underway In Sudan; Prime Minister Detained
By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
(Worthy News) – Sudan’s army took the prime minister to an undisclosed location in a coup early Monday, overshadowing attempts to introduce regular civil leadership after three decades.
Most of Sudan’s other cabinet ministers and pro-government party leaders were also detained, government sources said early Monday.
It was also a setback for Christians hoping to one day get more rights in the Muslim African nation where they had reported severe persecution.
Last month, Sudanese authorities said they thwarted an attempted coup by loyalists of deposed dictator Omar Hassan al-Bashir.
The Sudanese Ministry of Culture and Information said the joint military forces had placed Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok under house arrest demanding a “pro-coup statement.”
After refusing to “endorse the coup,” the ministry said, Hamdok was then moved to “an unknown location” besides other ministers and party officials.
As news of the arrests spread, protesters filled the capital’s streets, Khartoum, early Monday.
Television stations showed people burning tires in Khartoum, with plumes of smoke filling the skies.
The information ministry also said that internet connections had been cut and that the military had closed bridges.
Several feared security forces were patrolling streets, including troops from the military and the powerful, paramilitary Rapid Support Forces stationed in Khartoum, the capital, witnesses said.