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.
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.