#Breaking: Sudan Soldiers Attempt Coup, Plot ‘Thwarted’
There has been an attempt to take over the government in Sudan by a group of soldiers, state media reported on Tuesday, adding that the “coup plot” has been thwarted.
A top government source told said the soldiers had attempted to take over the state media building but “they failed.” The source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the coup had involved an attempt to take control of state radio in Omdurman, across the Nile River from the capital Khartoum.
In a Facebook post, the Sovereign Council spokesman Mohammed El Faky Suleiman urged the Sudanese to “rise up and defend your country and the transition”, adding that;”the situation is all under control. The revolution is victorious,” Al Faki said.
Interrogation of suspects involved in the attempted coup was due to begin and the military would issue a statement shortly, spokesman Mohamed al-Faki said.
A military official was quoted by Aljazeera as saying that an unspecified number of troops from the armored 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 authorised to brief the media, said many troops, including high-ranking officers, have been arrested. He did not provide further details, saying that a military statement would be released shorty.
Traffic appeared to be flowing smoothly in central Khartoum on Tuesday, including around army headquarters, where months of mass protests prompted the ouster of veteran president Omar al-Bashir in a palace coup two years ago.
Sudan has been on a fragile path to democratic rule since the military ousted the country’s longtime autocratic ruler Omar al-Bashir in April 2019, following four months of mass protests.
Sudan is currently ruled by a transitional government composed of both civilian and military representatives that was installed in the aftermath of Bashir’s overthrow and is tasked with overseeing a return to full civilian rule.
Deep political divisions and chronic economic problems inherited from the Bashir regime have overshadowed the transition.
In recent months, the government has undertaken a series of tough economic reforms to qualify for debt relief from the International Monetary Fund.
The steps, which included slashing subsidies and a managed float of the Sudanese pound, were seen by many Sudanese as too harsh.
Sporadic protests have broken out against the IMF-backed reforms and the rising cost of living.