The army in Sudan refuses to conclude a power-sharing agreement. Now the prime minister has been arrested instead, and chaos reigns. – This is not over, the Norwegian expert believes.
Telephone and internet connections are closed. The airport in the capital, Khartoum, was closed and all international flights were cancelled. at Military coup in full swing In one of the largest countries in Africa.
He stormed the home of Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok on Monday night, and was taken to an unknown location because he opposes the army. Soldiers seized the country’s radio and television stations.
The country’s commander-in-chief, Abdel Fattah al-Barha, said that the country’s government had been dissolved, and that he would soon establish a “competent” government, the NTB wrote.
At the same time, the Sudanese Professionals Syndicate, the largest pro-democracy group in the country, has asked all Sudanese to take to the streets to “fight” any kind of military coup.
“We urge the masses to take to the streets, block roads with roadblocks, not cooperate with the coup plotters and use civil disobedience to confront them,” the agency said.
doubts the strength
– This is not over yet. It is mobilizing for large counter-demonstrations in support of the civil wing. The decisive factor will be what the police and the military do, how much they are willing to follow the military leadership, says Senior Counsel Odd Evin, in helping the VG Norwegian Church.
Evin returned to Norway from Sudan yesterday, and in recent weeks she has followed with concern the skirmishes between the Sudanese military leadership and the civilian side in the so-called Unification Council that ruled the country.
– I’ve accumulated towards a full struggle. Two weeks ago, there was a failed coup attempt. The military caused a crisis for the civilian government by closing the port, which led to a rise in the prices of bread and gasoline, which in turn led to popular discontent, Evjen explains to VG.
Just before the end of the week, the civilian part of the government rallied its supporters for counter-demonstrations. There are violent forces at play. The military is suspicious of the authority and positions that give enormous wealth to the leadership.
Pictures and videos from the Sudanese capital show people blocking streets, burning tires and chanting anti-military slogans.
Security forces fired tear gas to disperse them, and it was also reported that they were fired sharply to quell the protests. At least 12 protesters were injured in what became known as the Democratic Play Committee on Monday.
“People are stronger and stronger” And Withdrawal is not an optionCheered many protesters gathered in the capital.
In addition to Prime Minister Hamdok, several other civilian government members and party leaders supporting the transitional government have been arrested, the news agency reported. Reuters.
The military reportedly tried to pressure Hamdok to make a statement in support of the coup.
The Prime Minister’s Office reported on Facebook that both Hamdok and his wife had been arrested in what was described as a “comprehensive coup”.
violent protests
In the spring of 2019, Sudan witnessed massive demonstrations against President Omar al-Bashir. He was arrested after four months of protests and replaced by a transitional government consisting of a civilian-military council and a civilian government, NTB writes.
Recently, the conflict between the military and civilian members of the transitional government has escalated.
At the end of September, the government claimed to have avoided a military coup. Then the prime minister said that officers and civilians with links to the former regime in the country were behind the coup attempt.
A few days later, thousands demonstrated to demand a new civilian transitional government. They accused the military leaders of delaying the democratic process.
The army’s supporters consist of conservative Islamists skeptical of political changes aimed at holding democratic elections in 2023.
The United States, the European Union, and the United Nations express deep concern about the situation in Sudan following reports of a military coup against the transitional government.
The international community is demanding that all sides follow the 2019 agreement, in which military and civilian leaders agreed to share power until democratic elections are held in 2023.
The US special envoy for the Horn of Africa, Jeffrey Feltman, wrote that what is happening is contrary to what the people of Sudan want.
– This is contrary to the constitutional declaration and the Sudanese people’s quest for democracy, he wrote on Twitter.
The Arab League, of which Sudan is one of its member states, also responded to the coup reports immediately. Secretary-General Aboul Gheit called on all parties to abide by the agreement they agreed upon more than two years ago. It also expresses serious concern.
Timeline: Sudan
* On December 19, 2018, protests erupted against the government’s decision to triple bread prices.
* They spread quickly and turned into weekly demonstrations, eventually calling for the resignation of President Omar al-Bashir. Sudan has ruled with an iron fist for nearly 30 years.
* After major protests, the military announced on April 11, 2019 that Bashir had been ousted and that a transitional military council would rule for two years.
* Demonstrators refuse to surrender before handing over power to a civilian government, and protests are continuing.
On June 3, armed men in military uniforms entered the protest camp outside the army headquarters. At least 127 people have died, according to doctors. The protests are continuing.
* Mediators from Ethiopia and the African Union are submitting proposals to form a new transitional government, negotiations are underway for weeks, and a power-sharing agreement will be signed on August 17. Civilian politicians and the military must share power for more than three years before democratic elections can be held.
* The leader of the Military Council, Major General Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, will be head of the Sovereignty Council for a period of 21 months before a representative of the democratic movement assumes power in the past 18 months.
* In July 2020, the country’s National Assembly adopted a reform of several strict Islamic laws. Non-Muslims are allowed to drink alcohol, flogging is forbidden, and there is no longer a death penalty for leaving Islam. In addition, female genital mutilation is prohibited.
* In October 2020, the government and rebel groups will sign a historic peace agreement aimed at ending the conflict that has plagued the country since 2003.
* In December 2020, Sudan will be officially removed from the US list of countries that support terrorism, as the country has stood for 27 years. In exchange for removing the blacklist, Sudan agreed to recognize Israel. The UN peacekeeping force in Darfur has been disbanded.
– Former Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir has not yet been extradited to the International Criminal Court, where he has been charged with war crimes in Darfur. In December 2019, he was convicted of corruption in a Sudanese court and sentenced to two years in prison under house arrest.
* On October 25, 2021, the military placed Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok and a number of other civilian politicians under house arrest after an escalation of conflict within the transitional government.
Source: NTB
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