[News] Coup attempt foiled in Sudan, suspects arrested

A coup attempt has been thwarted in Sudan and the situation is under control, the country’s military said on Tuesday, September 21 in a statement read on state TV.

According to the Sudanese Military spokesman, Mohamed al-Faki Suleiman, interrogation of suspects involved in the attempted coup will begin immediately and the military would issue a statement shortly.

“An authorised source in the presidency of the council of ministers said that security and military authorities have thwarted a coup attempt at dawn today,” the Sudan News Agency said via Twitter.

“The situation is under control, and those involved in it [the coup attempt] have been arrested and investigations are underway,” added the statement.

Sudan’s democratic rule has been on a fragile state since the military’s ouster of the country’s longtime ruler Omar al-Bashir in April 2019, following four months of mass protests.

The country is now ruled by a joint civilian and military government that faces huge economic and security challenges.

According to Al Jazeera, information about the coup attempt was made available to the government on Monday evening, which helped thwart it quickly.

Sudanese authorities reported that the military remains in control, while Sudan’s state-run television called on the public “to counter” the attempt but did not provide further details.

“All is under control. The revolution is victorious,” Suleiman, a member of the ruling military-civilian council, wrote on Facebook. He also called on the Sudanese people to protect the transition.

Another military official reportedly said an unspecified number of troops from the armoured corps were behind the attempt and that they tried to take over several government institutions but were stopped in their tracks.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to brief the media, said many troops, including high-ranking officers, have been arrested.