Residents in Sudan’s capital city Khartoum, on Tuesday morning woke up to what
seemed like a normal morning, but with only one exception, that the bridge leading to Omdurman, a city that lies on the western banks of the River Nile, had been blocked. Islamist officers believed to be in the Sudanese army had created the blockade, in order to allegedly try to seize power in the capital city, Khartoum.
Tanks were seen on the bridge preventing civilians from crossing and with military
tanks stationed in the way. Reports would later emerge from the country’s State
media that there was an attempted coup ongoing.
Sudanese State TV says the coup was a direct attempt to overthrow the country’s
government. Military and civilian Sudanese officials confirmed the coup which has
since been aborted.
What happened?
It is said that military tanks had moved from the army’s medical division and closed
the road towards the old Omdurman Bridge, near the Sudanese Parliament, amid a
heavy deployment of military forces in the area. Intense military activity was witnessed and bridges across the River Nile had also been closed.
In the early hours of Tuesday morning, after the coup attempt was reported, a
Member of the county’s Sovereign Council, Mohamed al-Faki,who is also its
spokesman, reportedly also issued a call on social media to the citizens to take to
the streets to “protect the democratic transition.”
Sources say the military intelligence identified the coup elements in several corps of
the Sudanese army and arrested them except the Armoured Corp. A military official
speaking on the basis of anonymity given the gravity of the situation, said an unspecified number of troops from the armoured corps were behind the attempt
and that they had tried to take over several government institutions but were
stopped in their tracks.
The headquarters of the army was surrounded because some of the coup members
were said to be retrenched inside its building. Reports also emerged of negotiations
that were aimed at convincing the coup instigators to surrender.
Names of Islamists officers in the army that are alleged to have participated in the coup have reportedly been circulated but there are no official confirmations yet.
The country’s government later said that it had contained the situation.
“All is under control. The revolution is victorious,” Mohamed Suleiman, a
member of the ruling military-civilian council, wrote on Facebook.
Suleiman also called on the Sudanese to protect the transition.
About the attempted coup
The Tuesday coup is believed to have been aimed at controlling the Sudanese Army
General Command, the official radio, television buildings, and the bridges linking the three parties of the capital Khartoum. Reports emerged that the plotters of the
coup had tried to take over the state media building.
More reports say the country’s military had received a tip off about the attempted
coup making it easier for them to foil it. The military spokesman Mohamed Al Faki
Suleiman has also been quoted as saying that the interrogation of suspects will soon begin. Currently there is still not yet an indication of who was behind the attempted coup, but a couple of officers have been arrested so far over their alleged links to the coup.
Sudan has been on a fragile path to democratic rule since the military’s ouster of the country’s longtime ruler Omar al-Bashir in April 2019, following four months of mass protests. Two years ago, the country’s long-term ruler Omar al-Bashir was toppled; a power-sharing agreement then established a government involving the military, civilian representatives and protest groups.
The country is now ruled by a joint civilian and military government forming a transitional council, which is currently faced with soaring economic and security challenges.