Arrests in Sudan… Hamdok is “clinging” to the position
A number of Sudanese activists were arrested, while the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the dismissed government announced that the dismissed Prime Minister, Abdallah Hamdok, stood by his position.
The Bloomberg news agency quoted activists as saying that the Sudanese authorities launched a new wave of arrests that included those opposed to the measures announced by the commander of the armed forces, Abdel Fattah al Burhan, and included the dissolution of the councils of sovereignty and ministers and the declaration of a state of emergency.
For the fourth day in a row, Sudanese protesters continue to protest the army chief’s decision to dissolve the transitional institutions, as international pressure mounts for the return of civilians to power.
Protesters on Thursday re-imposed road blocks at a time when the streets of the Sudanese capital Khartoum are seeing heavy security deployment by the army and rapid support forces.
Security forces are removing barricades and blockades set up by protesters to block roads, but protesters are returning them after security forces leave, a protester said Thursday.
On Thursday, Mariam al-Mahdi, the Sudanese Foreign Minister in the former transitional government, reiterated that the dismissed Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok “holds on to the legitimacy of his government, and urges the citizens to adhere to peaceful means and continue their resistance to the coup d’État in all forms of civil struggle in the parades of tomorrow, Saturday.”
This came in a statement of the Sudanese Ministry of Culture and Information in the government of Hamdok, published on Facebook, Thursday. It was reported that Mariam al-Mahdi received a phone call from the US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, during which they discussed the steps that the United States can take to support the struggle of the Sudanese people against the military coup, and to restore their legitimate government under Hamdok.
The Sudanese military has not responded to accusations of an arrest campaign, as well as statements by the foreign minister in the dismissed government.
Blinken tweeted on Wednesday: “I spoke with Sudanese Foreign Minister Maryam al-Mahdi to condemn the arrest of Sudan’s civilian leaders and to discuss how the United States can best support the Sudanese people’s call for a return to a civilian-led transition to democracy.”
The Commander-in-Chief of the Sudanese Army, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, said earlier that those arrested during the past few days will be classified and released, some of whom have not been charged with a criminal offense, and others will be brought to justice.
“He also promised to launch a transitional government that would be composed of civil cadres, without involving political forces, and to establish a legislative council that would represent some of the activists of the revolution that toppled the deposed president Omar al-Bechir two years ago.”
