Two protesters were killed and 80 wounded after Sudanese security forces opened fire on crowds that flooded the streets of Khartoum after a coup on Monday, the Sudan Doctors’ Committee said.
Sudan's military on Monday seized power, dismissed the civilian-led government, declared a nationwide emergency and arrested Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok and other leading civilian officials.
The takeover comes only weeks before the military was supposed to hand over the leadership of the council that runs the country to civilians and more than two years after protesters ousted long-time autocrat Omar Al Bashir.
In a national TV address, army chief Gen Abdel Fattah Al Burhan said he was dissolving the ruling military-civilian Sovereignty Council he has chaired since its creation in a power-sharing deal in August 2019.
Gen Al Burhan said a government of “independent” technocrats would be formed to run the country, while the military remains the “guarantor” of the nation's transition to civilian rule.
The reins of power will be handed over to an elected government after elections in July 2023, he said. He also vowed to lead the nation to civilian rule by 2023.
He accused political forces of becoming “power hungry” and a source of incitement for violence, prompting the military to act. “We sensed the grave danger stalking the country,” said the general, who observers say has been showing signs of political ambitions.
Gen Al Burhan paid tribute to the “December revolution”, the anti-Al Bashir uprising of 2018-19 that was engineered by the Forces of Freedom and Change (FFC) – a pro-democracy alliance that became the political power base of the civilian government and its political patron.
Protesters take to the streets
But his lavish tribute to the revolution found no support on the streets, where thousands of people turned out to protest against the coup that jeopardises the country’s shaky progress towards democracy, burning tyres and chanting revolutionary slogans.
Pro-democracy activists and “resistance committees” in Khartoum distributed timetables for street protests over the next week, with a call for a nationwide protest on Saturday. There were also reports that doctors and teachers have already announced they were going on strike.
“People will go out to the streets and a civil disobedience campaign will begin,” said Sulaima Ishaq, a prominent activist who took part in the 2018-19 protests. “People no longer fear death. In Sudan now, death is no longer a frightening idea but the military is unable to comprehend that.”
The US embassy in Khartoum called on those who were disrupting Sudan's civilian-led transition to stand down, while the European Union urged “all stakeholders” and their regional partners to help place the democratic transition process back on track.
The UN and the Arab League said they were concerned, with the latter calling on all sides to respect the 2019 power-sharing deal between the military and the FFC, which led the protests against Al Bashir in 2018 and 2019 and formed the power base of Mr Hamdok's government.
Monday's coup came after weeks of growing tension between the military and the civilian government, following a failed coup attempt last month that made public the long-simmering differences between the two sides. The dispute swiftly degenerated into mudslinging, with each side blaming the other for Sudan's problems.
The first signs of a coup were detected early on Monday morning when residents of Khartoum said thousands of soldiers were stationed across the capital at dawn and that several key Nile River bridges were closed to traffic. They also reported an internet blackout.
The Information Ministry said soldiers stormed the state radio and TV station in Khartoum's sister city of Omdurman and employees were arrested.
Police spokesman Brig Gen Idrees Suleiman told The National that the city's only international airport was closed to traffic and that Khartoum was “paralysed”.
Sudan's revolution — in pictures
US envoy Jeffrey Feltman was in Sudan at the weekend to meet officials and sat with Gen Al Burhan – their second meeting in as many days – after warning that the collapse of the transition would jeopardise Washington's vital aid to the crisis-hit country.
On Monday, Mr Feltman said he was deeply alarmed by the developments, while UN Sudan envoy Volker Perthes said the military appeared to be in control and warned of "violence and more clashes when night falls".
Sudan's political landscape has been defined by military coups since it became independent 65 years ago, with at least two dozen attempted seizures of power and three periods of military rule lasting a total of more than 50 years.
At the weekend, leaders of the FFC warned of a “creeping” coup and said Gen Al Burhan wanted Mr Hamdok's government to be replaced with one that leaves the military with the final word on policy.
The group also claimed the military was behind a month-long blockade of the country's main commercial seaport on the Red Sea that has caused shortages of bread.
Hundreds of thousands marched in Khartoum and other major cities on Thursday to show their support for Mr Hamdok's government and demand that Gen Al Burhan step down. The military responded to the demonstrations by sealing off the area where its headquarters are located and then surrounding it with concrete barriers.
Key findings of Jenkins report
- Founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan al Banna, "accepted the political utility of violence"
- Views of key Muslim Brotherhood ideologue, Sayyid Qutb, have “consistently been understood” as permitting “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” and “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
- Muslim Brotherhood at all levels has repeatedly defended Hamas attacks against Israel, including the use of suicide bombers and the killing of civilians.
- Laying out the report in the House of Commons, David Cameron told MPs: "The main findings of the review support the conclusion that membership of, association with, or influence by the Muslim Brotherhood should be considered as a possible indicator of extremism."
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What is blockchain?
Blockchain is a form of distributed ledger technology, a digital system in which data is recorded across multiple places at the same time. Unlike traditional databases, DLTs have no central administrator or centralised data storage. They are transparent because the data is visible and, because they are automatically replicated and impossible to be tampered with, they are secure.
The main difference between blockchain and other forms of DLT is the way data is stored as ‘blocks’ – new transactions are added to the existing ‘chain’ of past transactions, hence the name ‘blockchain’. It is impossible to delete or modify information on the chain due to the replication of blocks across various locations.
Blockchain is mostly associated with cryptocurrency Bitcoin. Due to the inability to tamper with transactions, advocates say this makes the currency more secure and safer than traditional systems. It is maintained by a network of people referred to as ‘miners’, who receive rewards for solving complex mathematical equations that enable transactions to go through.
However, one of the major problems that has come to light has been the presence of illicit material buried in the Bitcoin blockchain, linking it to the dark web.
Other blockchain platforms can offer things like smart contracts, which are automatically implemented when specific conditions from all interested parties are reached, cutting the time involved and the risk of mistakes. Another use could be storing medical records, as patients can be confident their information cannot be changed. The technology can also be used in supply chains, voting and has the potential to used for storing property records.
Company Profile
Founder: Omar Onsi
Launched: 2018
Employees: 35
Financing stage: Seed round ($12 million)
Investors: B&Y, Phoenician Funds, M1 Group, Shorooq Partners
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded