Sudanese security forces have reportedly shifted Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok to an unknown location after he refused to issue a statement in support of an ongoing coup, the information ministry said, reported Reuters.
The Information ministry’s statement was released on Monday after Dubai-based Al-Hadath TV said security forces had besieged the prime minister’s home and placed him under house arrest. Members of Sudan’s transitional government and other civilian leaders have also been arrested by unidentified soldiers.
The statement said that Mr Hamdok was being forced to support a coup but was refusing to do so and he urged people to continue with peaceful protests to defend the revolution.
“After he refused to be a part of the coup, a force from the army detained Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok and took him to an unidentified location,” the ministry statement said.
According to sources, the detained government members include Industry Minister Ibrahim al-Sheikh, Information Minister Hamza Baloul, and Mohammed al-Fiky Suliman, member of the country’s ruling transitional council, and Faisal Mohammed Saleh, a media adviser to Prime Minister Hamdok.
Last month, Sudan faced a failed coup plot and since then bitter recriminations has unleashed between military and civilian transitional council groups meant to be sharing power following the 2019 ouster of former leader Omar al-Bashir.
Bashir was ousted after months of street protests. A political transition was meant to lead the country to elections by the end of 2023.
Prime Minister Hamdok is struggling to keep the transition going due to political splits between the military and civilians and the pressures of an economic crisis. Last week, tens of thousands of Sudanese came out on the streets in several cities to support the full transfer of power to civilians. To counter the protests, a large number of Sudanese sat outside the presidential palace in the capital Khartoum demanding a return to complete military rule.
