Arrests of government and political leaders in Sudan

October 25, 2021 (KHARTOUM) – The military component in Sudan arrested senior government officials and leaders of the Forces for Freedom and Change (FFC), amid reports about the expected suspension of the Constitutional Document.

In the early hours of Monday morning, military forces arrested Mohamed al-Faki, a member of the Sovereign Council and head of the Empowerment Removal Committee, Khaled Omer, Minister of Cabinet Affairs, Yasir Arman, political advisor to the Prime Minister, Ibrahim al-Sheikh, Minister of Industry, in addition to Faisal Mohamed Saleh, a media advisor to the Prime Minister.

The fate of the Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok is unknown as there are reports saying that he was under house arrest and other reports about his transfer to another location.

Among the political leaders are arrested: Wajdi Saleh
A member of the Empowerment Removal Committee, Omer al-Diguair, the head of the Sudanese Congress Party, Mohamed Nagi al-Asam, a leading member of the Sudanese Professionals Association (SPA), al-Sadiq Urwa, a leading member of the National Umma Party, Gaafar Hassan, the FFC spokesman, and Alrayeh Sanhouri, an FFC leading member.

Hundreds of civilians took to the streets of Khartoum and tires were burned, amid calls to demonstrate from the SPA the spearhead of the December Revolution, and the Resistance Committees.

The Sudanese Communists Party called to declare a political strike and civil disobedience “until this coup is defeated.”

There are unconfirmed reports about the arrest of other political leaders. While analysts said that the first ve of arrests targeted those who can mobilize the street.

There is no reaction from the FFC-National Accord which calls for the dissolution of the Hamdok government and support calls by the military component to form a broad-based cabinet including the Islamist Popular Congress Party and other forces allied with the former regime.

The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) are also deployed in the streets of Khartoum.

The internet was cut off in the country.

The country has been experiencing, for a month, a severe political crisis between the FFC and the military component that refuses to hand over power to civilians in November.

The military component also has failed to implement the security reforms agreed upon in the transitional constitutional declaration.

In a meeting on Sunday with the U.S. Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa Jeffrey Feltman, al-Burhan stressed the need to dissolve the current transitional government and form a broad-based.

He also rejected an American proposal to prioritize the formation of the transitional legislative council.

(ST)