TUESDAY, OCTOBER 26 , 2021. THE WASHINGTON POST EZ RE A

tion of civilian stakeholders in the

transitional government, posted

numerous videos to its social me-

dia accounts of protesters gather-

ing Monday in symbolically im-

portant places in Khartoum, in-

cluding in front of the military

headquarters, the focus of the vast

protests in 2019 in the months

before and after Bashir’s eventual

unseating by his military com-

manders.

The protesters reprised a cen-

tral slogan of the 2019 revolution

as they marched up Africa Avenue

past the airport and toward the

center of the city: “Freedom, peace

and justice, the revolution belongs

to the people.”

The prime minister’s political

coalition, largely made up of

groups that supported Bashir’s

overthrow, had made progress

with Western governments in nor-

mali zing Sudan’s diplomatic and

economic relations with the rest of

the world after decades of sanc-

tions. Sudan was taken off the

ger transition period.

On Monday, Feltman’s office

said in a t weet: “The US is deeply

alarmed at reports of a military

take-over of the transitional gov-

ernment. This would contravene

the Constitutional Declaration

and the democratic aspirations of

the Sudanese people and is utterly

unacceptable. As we have said re-

peatedly, any changes to the tran-

sitional government by force puts

at risk U.S. assistance.”

Price, the State Department

spokesman, on Monday suggested

that while U.S. economic aid was

paused, U.S. humanitarian aid to

Sudan would continue. “Our hu-

manitarian commitment to the

people of Sudan will not change,”

he said, without providing details.

Price said the United States had

not been in touch with Hamdok

and did not get advance notice

from military officials about their

takeover.

The Sudanese Congress Party,

which is part of Hamdok’s coali-

Union suspended Sudan’s mem-

bership. Saudi Arabia, a close ally,

expressed concern in a statement

but did not call Monday’s events a

coup or military takeover.

“The kingdom calls for the im-

portance of self-control, calm and

de-escalation, and preserving all

that was achieved from political

and economic gains,” the Saudi

Foreign Ministry’s statement

read.

Washington’s special envoy to

the Horn of Africa region, Jeffrey

Feltman, met on Saturday with

Hamdok and Sudan’s two most

powerful military figures, Burhan

and Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo,

better known as Hemedti, a for-

mer warlord who now commands

a powerful paramilitary unit

called the Rapid Support Forces.

Feltman had used the meeting

to warn that U.S. support for Su-

dan was tied to its transition

toward elections and civilian rule,

which military leaders have

agreed to while pushing for a l on-

confrontation. Divisions within

the military have also contributed

to the instability. Last month, pro-

Bashir elements in the army at-

tempted a coup but were thwart-

ed.

The civilian side of the govern-

ment, led by former economist

Hamdok, had recently set a N ov. 17

deadline for a f ull transition to

civilian power.

In a s tatement posted on the

Facebook page of Sudan’s civilian-

run Information Ministry, Ham-

dok was quoted as calling on the

Sudanese people to peacefully “oc-

cupy the streets to defend their

revolution.” A separate post said

Hamdok had been arrested and

transferred to an unknown loca-

tion. His whereabouts remained

unclear Monday afternoon.

The United States, European

Union and United Nations all is-

sued statements calling for the

immediate release of civilian lead-

ers and their restoration in the

government, and the African

United States’ state sponsors of

terrorism list last year and had

begun engaging with Western

lending institutions to clear enor-

mous debt arrears and secure

loans to stabilize the country’s in-

flation-rocked economy.

The military’s role in Sudan’s

transitional government was pre-

sented to civilian leaders in 2019

as a largely honorary one, but

Burhan and others have figured

prominently in the country’s do-

mestic and foreign policy since

then, and they accused Hamdok of

trying to monopolize control.

Over the past half-century, Su-

dan has been rocked by coups and

wars, creating an intricate and

shifting web of alliances and rival-

ries. In 2011, after a decades-long

civil war, the country was split in

two after largely non-Muslim

southerners voted to secede and

create the new country of South

Sudan. A p articularly brutal con-

flict in the western region of Da r-

fur, along the border with Chad,

still simmers and has displaced

hundreds of thousands of people

this year alone, according to the

United Nations.

Militia leaders from Darfur

who once fought Burhan and

Hemedti have now sided with

them in an alliance that has made

supporters of the civilian govern-

ment, especially among displaced

communities in Darfur, deeply un-

comfortable. Pro-democracy dem-

onstrators have also alle ged th at

Sudanese military leaders still

maintain close ties with Bashir’s

inner circle despite claiming to be

vanguards of the movement that

ousted him.

A particularly sore point has

emerged over Bashir’s outstand-

ing warrant from the Internation-

al Criminal Court in The Hague on

charges of genocide and crimes

against humanity, relating to

atrocities in Darfur carried out by

state security forces between 2003

and 2008. The civilian govern-

ment has approved measures to

hand Bashir over to the court from

a Sudanese jail, but the military

has blocked the move. Burhan,

Hemedti and other prominent

military and paramilitary figures

served in Darfur under Bashir, but

there are no outstanding cases

against them.

[email protected]

Missy Ryan in Washington contributed

to this report.

pired unless Sudan is returned to
the transitional path.”
The coup comes just days after
the U.S. envoy to the region met
with Sudan’s military leaders and
warned them that American sup-
port — which aims to prop up an
economic renewal after decades of
sanctions — was conditional on
sticking to an agreement that
would see power put squarely in
civilian hands this year.
Sudan’s top military command-
er and head of state, Lt. Gen. Abdel
Fattah al-Burhan, appeared on
state television about noon local
time to announce the new mea-
sures, but he did not specifically
address the arrests of Prime Min-
ister Abdalla Hamdok and other
members of the government. He
also did not mention a target date
for a t ransition to full civilian con-
trol of the government. He said the
military was still committed to
democratic elections by mid-2023.
As news of the military’s action
spread around Khartoum, crowds
gathered in the streets in protest
— just days after the capital wit-
nessed the biggest pro-democracy
demonstrations since 2019, when
Bashir was toppled by a w ave of
popular discontent. Locals de-
scribed security forces out in
droves using batons and live am-
munition to scatter protesters,
who uploaded videos of the chaos
despite Internet services being
disrupted.
“Eve ryone is on the streets. Peo-
ple are feeling like this is a major
determining moment for our fu-
ture,” said Asma Ismail, 35, a p ro-
democracy activist who spoke by
phone from Khartoum. “Two and
a half years of progress could dis-
appear. It could all have been in
vain.”
Local news channels reported
the closing of roads and bridges
connecting Khartoum with the
rest of Sudan by large contingents
of security forces, as well as the
suspension of flights at the air-
port. A p rominent doctors associ-
ation said in a statement posted to
Twitter that two people had died
of gunshot wounds and more than
80 were injured.
Since Bashir’s ousting, the
country has been governed by a
civilian-military transi tion al
council, and tensions over power-
sharing have repeatedly threat-
ened to boil over into outright

COUP FROM A

Protesters gather, U.S. issues a warning a fter Sudan’s military stages a coup

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE/GETTY IMAGES

Sudanese demonstrators rally in the capital, Khartoum, on Monday after the arrests of Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok and other

members of the government. Locals described security forces out in droves using batons and live ammunition to scatter protesters.

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