Africa

Sudan says attempted coup thwarted, situation under control

Sudan authorities say they have thwarted an attempted coup in the early hours of Tuesday, after containing “a limited number of people involved” in the putsch.

“There has been a failed coup attempt, the people should confront it,” said Sudan official television, citing government sources on Tuesday.

It said the plotters had attempted to take over the state radio in Omdurman, across the river Nile from Khartoum, but “they failed.”

A senior military source said a group of officers “were involved in the attempt but were immediately suspended.”

The report came as tanks appeared on the streets of the capital Khartoum, blocking the road to the main bridge across the Nile, connecting the capital to its twin city Omdurman.

Sudan’s Sovereign Council spokesperson Mohamed al-Faki Suleiman said later that the army will issue a statement in connection with the latest developments.

“All is under control. The revolution is victorious,” he wrote on Facebook.

Speaking to Russian news agency, Sputnik, a high-ranking Sudanese military source said that “military intelligence tracked the military who attempted the coup today.”

“They were under surveillance for a long time and were detained as soon as they took their first real steps aimed at staging a coup,” he said

The African country is currently ruled by a transitional government composed of both civilian and military representatives that was installed in the aftermath of the ouster of president Omar al-Bashir in a palace coup two years ago.

The government, which has gradually been welcomed into the international fold, is facing growing economic and security challenges. It has vowed to fix the country’s economy battered by decades of mismanagement, internal conflict, and international sanctions.

The government has, in recent months, been facing protests across the nation, over a series of tough economic reforms.

Protesters have been calling for the resignation of the transitional government. They said the reforms, which included slashing subsidies, are too harsh.

Bashir, who is now in prison in Khartoum, ruled Sudan for almost 30 years and is wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) over alleged atrocities committed in Darfur in the early 2000s.

Since before Bashir’s removal, Sudan’s economy has been in deep crisis, and the transitional government has undergone a reform program monitored by the International Monetary Fund.

Despite the harsh reforms, the economy is still contending with rapid inflation and shortages of goods and services.

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