Sovereignty Council Head Burhan Declares State of Emergency in Sudan, Dissolves Government
10:13 GMT 25.10.2021 (Updated: 11:04 GMT 25.10.2021)
© AP Photo / Hussein MallaIn this June 29, 2019, file photo, Sudanese Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan, head of the military council, speaks during a military-backed rally, in Omdurman district, west of Khartoum, Sudan. An African Union envoy says Sudan's ruling military council and the country's pro-democracy movement have reached a power-sharing agreement, including a timetable for a transition to civilian rule. Mohammed el-Hassan Labat said early Friday, July 5, that both sides agreed to form a joint sovereign council that will rule the country for "three years or a little more." The sides agreed to five seats for the military and five for civilians with an additional seat going to a civilian with military background.
![In this June 29, 2019, file photo, Sudanese Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan, head of the military council, speaks during a military-backed rally, in Omdurman district, west of Khartoum, Sudan. An African Union envoy says Sudan's ruling military council and the country's pro-democracy movement have reached a power-sharing agreement, including a timetable for a transition to civilian rule. Mohammed el-Hassan Labat said early Friday, July 5, that both sides agreed to form a joint sovereign council that will rule the country for three years or a little more. The sides agreed to five seats for the military and five for civilians with an additional seat going to a civilian with military background. In this June 29, 2019, file photo, Sudanese Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan, head of the military council, speaks during a military-backed rally, in Omdurman district, west of Khartoum, Sudan. An African Union envoy says Sudan's ruling military council and the country's pro-democracy movement have reached a power-sharing agreement, including a timetable for a transition to civilian rule. Mohammed el-Hassan Labat said early Friday, July 5, that both sides agreed to form a joint sovereign council that will rule the country for three years or a little more. The sides agreed to five seats for the military and five for civilians with an additional seat going to a civilian with military background. - Sputnik International, 1920, 25.10.2021](https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/107657/48/1076574816_0:177:3015:1872_1920x0_80_0_0_db97e5c60dbaa93bca2b559c1c5e1a4d.jpg)
© AP Photo / Hussein Malla
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Mass protests hit Sudan earlier in the day, after Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok and several cabinet members were arrested by the military.
General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, head of Sudan's Sovereignty Council, stated on Monday that the government has been dissolved and declared a nationwide state of emergency. He also said that infighting between various political factions and incitement to violence forced the military to act, and promised that Sudan will hold elections in July 2023.
"I declare a state of emergency throughout the country... as well as the dissolution of the Sovereign Council and the Cabinet of Ministers", al-Burhan said in a televised address, adding that some aspects of the constitutional declaration which have been in force since 2019 are now void.
The council head also said that developments in Sudan threatened national security. According to him, the military will continue a democratic transition until power is handed over to a civilian government.
In response, the Information Ministry said that al-Burhan's statement amounts to a military coup.
"Lt. Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan declared the seizure of power as a result of a military coup", the ministry said.
© AP Photo / Marwan AliProtesters gather during a demonstration, in Khartoum, Sudan, Saturday, Dec. 19, 2020. Protests in Sudan’s capital and across the country are demanding a faster pace to democratic reforms, in demonstrations that are marking the two-year anniversary of the uprising that led to the military’s ouster of strongman Omar al-Bashir.
![Protesters gather during a demonstration, in Khartoum, Sudan, Saturday, Dec. 19, 2020. Protests in Sudan’s capital and across the country are demanding a faster pace to democratic reforms, in demonstrations that are marking the two-year anniversary of the uprising that led to the military’s ouster of strongman Omar al-Bashir. Protesters gather during a demonstration, in Khartoum, Sudan, Saturday, Dec. 19, 2020. Protests in Sudan’s capital and across the country are demanding a faster pace to democratic reforms, in demonstrations that are marking the two-year anniversary of the uprising that led to the military’s ouster of strongman Omar al-Bashir. - Sputnik International, 1920, 25.10.2021](https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e5/02/01/1081951548_0:0:3072:2048_1920x0_80_0_0_b2b53607bc902c39369300fd22d06c48.jpg)
Protesters gather during a demonstration, in Khartoum, Sudan, Saturday, Dec. 19, 2020. Protests in Sudan’s capital and across the country are demanding a faster pace to democratic reforms, in demonstrations that are marking the two-year anniversary of the uprising that led to the military’s ouster of strongman Omar al-Bashir.
© AP Photo / Marwan Ali
Earlier in the day, the armed forces put Prime Minister Hamdok under house arrest, deployed troops in the capital city, and seized control of state TV and radio centres. Mass rallies were held in Khartoum and Omdurman, and there have been reports of soldiers shooting protesters near the military headquarters.
The takeover occurred just before al-Burhan's term as head of the transitional government expired. After long-standing Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir was ousted in 2019, the military and civilians agreed to form a Sovereignty Council for a 39-month transitional period.