Sudan's Burhan says army ousted government to avoid civil war

KHARTOUM:

Sudan's armed forces chief defended the military's seizure of power, saying he had ousted the government to avoid civil war, while protesters took to the streets on Tuesday to demonstrate against the takeover after a day of deadly clashes.

The military takeover on Monday brought a halt to Sudan's transition to democracy, two years after a popular uprising toppled long-ruling autocrat Omar al-Bashir.

Speaking at his first news conference since announcing the takeover, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan said the army had no choice but to sideline politicians who were inciting against the armed forces.

"The dangers we witnessed last week could have led the country into civil war," he said, an apparent reference to demonstrations against the prospect of a coup.

Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok, who was arrested on Monday along with other members of his Cabinet, had not been harmed and had been brought to Burhan's own home, the general said. “The prime minister was in his house. However, we were afraid that he’d be in danger so he has been placed with me in my home."

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Burhan had appeared on TV on Monday to announce the dissolution of the Sovereign Council, a body set up after Bashir's overthrow to share power between the military and civilians and lead Sudan to free elections.

The Facebook page for the office of the prime minister, apparently still under the control of Hamdok loyalists, called for his release and that of other civilian leaders.

Hamdok remains "the executive authority recognised by the Sudanese people and the world", the post said. It said there was no alternative other than protests, strikes and civil disobedience.

Sudanese ambassadors to 12 countries, including the United States, United Arab Emirates, China, and France, have rejected the military takeover, a diplomatic source said on Tuesday.

Ambassadors to Belgium and the European Union, Geneva and UN agencies, China, South Africa, Qatar, Kuwait, Turkey, Sweden and Canada also signed on to the statement, which said the envoys backed popular resistance to the coup.

Western countries have denounced the coup, called for the detained Cabinet ministers to be freed and said they will cut off aid if the military does not restore power-sharing with civilians. The German mission to the United Nations said on Twitter that it was suspending aid until further notice.

Also read Ministers, party leaders detained in apparent coup in Sudan - sources

The UN Security Council is discussing a possible statement on Sudan, diplomats said. UN chief Antonio Guterres on Tuesday decried "an epidemic of coup d'états" as Sudan is the latest in a series of military takeovers in Myanmar, Mali and Guinea and attempted coups in several other countries.

A road barricade is set on fire during what the information ministry calls a military coup in Khartoum, Sudan, October 25, 2021. PHOTO: REUTERS

Shops shut, protests flare in capital

Khartoum and its twin city Omdurman across the Nile River were partly locked down on Tuesday with shops shut and plumes of smoke rising from where protesters burned tyres. Calls for a general strike were played over mosque loudspeakers. Streets and bridges were blocked by soldiers or protester barricades.

The only people in the streets apart from protesters were security forces heavily deployed around the presidential palace and ministry of defence.

Some roads were still blocked by barricades erected by protesters made from stones, tree branches and burning tyres. There were small groups of protesters but no leadership to coordinate them. Phone networks were patchy.

A group of neighbourhood resistance committees in Khartoum announced a schedule of further barricades and protests leading to what it said would be a "march of millions" on Saturday.

Images on social media showed renewed street protests on Tuesday in the cities of Atbara, Dongola, Elobeid and Port Sudan. People chanted: "Don't give your back to the army, the army won't protect you."

The military appeared to have underestimated civilian opposition on the street, according to Jonas Horner of the International Crisis Group.

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"They haven't learned their lesson," he said. "As we saw post the revolution and post-Bashir, the streets were determined and civilians were willing to die for this."

A health ministry official said seven people had been killed in clashes between protesters and the security forces on Monday.

Burhan said the military's action did not amount to a coup.

“We only wanted to correct the course to a transition," he said. "We had promised the people of Sudan and the entire world. We will protect this transition." He said a new government would be formed that would contain no typical politicians.

Sudan, for decades a pariah under Bashir, has depended on Western aid to pull through an economic crisis in the two years since he was overthrown.

Banks and cash machines were closed. Mobile phone apps widely used for money transfers could not be used.

"We are paying the price for this crisis," a man in his 50s looking for medicine at one of the pharmacies where stocks have been running low said angrily. "We can't work, we can't find bread, there are no services, no money."

In the city of El Geneina, resident Adam Haroun said there was complete civil disobedience, with schools, stores and gas stations shut.