A Sudanese government official said a coup attempt has been thwarted and situation was “under control”, reported the Sudan News Agency.
Interrogation of suspects involved in the attempted coup was due to begin and the military would issue a statement shortly, spokesman Mohamed al-Faki Suleiman said.
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.
The country is now ruled by a joint civilian and military government that faces towering economic and security challenges.
A coup attempt was foiled in Sudan and the situation is under control, the country’s military said on Tuesday in a statement read on state TV.
“An authorized source in the presidency of the council of ministers said that security and military authorities have thwarted a coup attempt at dawn today,” the Sudan News Agency said via Twitter.
“The situation is under control, and those involved in it [the coup attempt] have been arrested and investigations are underway,” added the statement.
Traffic appeared to be flowing smoothly in central Khartoum, including around army headquarters, where months of mass protests prompted the ousting of veteran president Omar al-Bashir in a palace coup two years ago.
Sudanese security forces did however close the main bridge across the Nile connecting Khartoum to its twin city Omdurman.
“The army said it was still containing the area where the arms depot is and that some officers were still inside,” said Al Jazeera’s Hiba Morgan reporting from Khartoum.
“They are negotiating to hand over their weapons and come out,” she added.
“They [the army] say that interrogations with the officers they have already arrested will begin shortly but, again, we are waiting for that official statement from the Sovereignty Council and the military,” said Morgan.
Sudanese authorities reported that the military remains in control, while Sudan’s state-run television called on the public “to counter” the attempt but did not provide further details.
“All is under control. The revolution is victorious,” Suleiman, a member of the ruling military-civilian council, wrote on Facebook. He also called on the Sudanese to protect the transition.
A military official said an unspecified number of troops from the armoured corps were behind the attempt and that they tried to take over several government institutions but were stopped in their tracks.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to brief the media, said many troops, including high-ranking officers, have been arrested.
Source: Al Jazeera
