Sudan general declares state of emergency, dissolves gov’t

KHARTOUM, Sudan (AA) – The head of Sudan’s ruling military council, Gen. Abdel-Fattah al-Burhan, declared a state of emergency and dissolved the transitional sovereign council and government.

The move came hours after the military arrested Prime Minister Abdullah Hamdok and ministers in the civilian government.

We are declaring "a state of emergency in the country, dissolving the Sovereign Council and the cabinet and freezing the work of the Empowerment Committee," al-Burhan said in a televised speech.

Al-Burhan also announced the suspension of some provisions of the constitutional document outlining political transition in Sudan.

According to Sudanese Information Ministry, a military force arrested Hamdok early Monday after he refused to support what it described as a "coup".

Until today, Sudan was ruled by a Sovereign Council of military and civilian officials, which oversees the transition period until elections slated for 2023, as part of a precarious power-sharing pact between the military and the Forces for Freedom and Change (FFC) coalition.

Al-Burhan underlined his commitment to the Juba Peace Agreement signed with armed movements in October 2020.

He said an independent government of technocrats would be formed to rule the country until elections in July 2023.

"We will continue to work to create the atmosphere for conducting the elections," he said.

Al-Burhan defended his moves as aimed at “protecting" Sudan from the dangers of “incitement” by political forces to cause chaos.

“What the country is going through has become a real danger," the military chief warned, citing divisions in the country.

“The transitional phase will continue to reach an elected government, and that the armed forces are moving forward with the democratic transformation,” he said, noting that the youth of the revolution in Sudan will be involved in the process.

After a failed military coup last month, deep tensions between the military and the civilian administration erupted in Sudan amid rival protests in the capital Khartoum in recent days.

*Writing by Ibrahim Mukhtar in Ankara