The Central Committee of Sudanese Doctors has said that four people died of gunshot wounds while at least 90 others were injured after being shot by military forces during protests against a military takeover on Monday.
Thousands of protesters poured into the streets of the capital, Khartoum, and its twin city of Omdurman following the early morning arrests of Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok and other senior officials by security forces in the country.
Hamdok was moved to an undisclosed location after he refused to issue a statement in support of the coup, said the information ministry.
The chairman of Sudan’s ruling body General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan later announced the dissolution of the transitional government and the sovereign council and declared a nationwide state of emergency.
Sudan has been on edge since a failed coup plot last month unleashed bitter recriminations between military and civilian groups meant to be sharing power following the toppling of the country’s longtime leader Omar al-Bashir two years ago.
The coup also comes just weeks before the military was supposed to hand the leadership of the council that runs the country over to civilians.
Mark Warner, a top Democrat who chairs the Senate Intelligence Committee, has condemned the military takeover in Sudan describing it as a “coup attempt.”
Warner joined a growing list of Congress members calling for the restoration of the government in Sudan.
“The takeover of Sudan’s transitional government by the military and arrest of senior gov’t officials violates constitutional rule & the democratic aims of the people of Sudan,” Warner wrote on Twitter.
“I condemn this coup attempt, and join bipartisan calls for immediate restoration of civilian government.”
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet pointed out reports that the internet is down in the country and other means of communication are suspended.
“Blanket internet shutdowns contravene international law, and Internet and mobile services must be restored, as they are essential for people to seek and receive information, particularly in these unsettling circumstances”, she explained.
She asked military and security forces to refrain from unnecessary and disproportionate use of force, to respect people’s freedom of expression, as well as the right of peaceful assembly.
According to Bachelet, “it would be disastrous if Sudan goes backwards after finally bringing an end to decades of repressive dictatorship.”
Sudan’s central bank employees said they went on an immediate strike in rejection of the military coup after Sudan’s military seized power from the transitional government, the Sudanese information ministry wrote on its page on Facebook.The Sudanese military’s takeover of the transitional government will have lasting consequences on relations with the United States and it should reverse course immediately, Senate Foreign Relations Chairman Bob Menendez said.
“The Sudanese military’s takeover of the state apparatus is completely unacceptable and will have long-lasting consequences with respect to US- Sudanese relations,” said Menendez, who called for the immediate release of government officials.
African Union Commission head Moussa Faki Mahamat expressed “deep dismay” over the volatile political situation in Sudan.
In a statement posted on the commission’s Twitter account, Mahamat said he was alarmed at the developments which led to the arrest of Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok and other civilian officials.
Mahamat called on the immediate resumption of consultations between the civilian and military wings of the transitional government.