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Coup foiled in Sudan, government claims

AUTHORITIES in Sudan called for the country’s people to mobilise in defence of the government today after it claimed to have foiled a coup attempt by a group of soldiers.

“All is under control. The revolution is victorious,” said military spokesman Mohamed al-Faki Suleiman.

The government blamed allies of former president Omar al-Bashir for the coup attempt. 

“They tried to take advantage of the situation in different towns by closing the ports and the roads. They took advantage of the national crisis and tried to stop us from moving forward during this transitional period,” President Abdallah Hamdok said. 

According to a military official, about 50 soldiers tried to take over several government institutions and the state radio broadcaster. 

He said that alleged coup-plotters, including high-ranking officers, had been arrested and were under interrogation.

Sudan has been ruled by a transitional military council since a mass popular uprising two years ago that ousted Mr Bashir, who had been in power for almost 30 years.

He is set to face trial at the International Criminal Court for war crimes committed in the Darfur region.

The interim administration is tasked with overseeing a transition to democracy and a return to civilian rule, but has been riven with deep political divisions. 

On Monday, the Sudanese Communist Party, which played a leading role in the 2019 uprising, reaffirmed its decision not to rejoin the Forces for Freedom and Change coalition.

It rejects the government led by Mr Hamdok, accusing the military of blocking the employment of communists in the civil service, the exclusion of women from government and attempting to cling on to power.

The party described the government’s economic reforms, which have provoked mass street protests amid rising poverty, are “foreign dictates” — referencing the IMF-monitored recommendations.

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