October 2021 Sudanese coup d'état

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October 2021 Sudanese coup d'état
Part of the 2019–2024 Sudanese transition to democracy
Date25 October 2021
Location
Khartoum, Sudan
15°36′32″N 32°31′43″E / 15.60889°N 32.52861°E / 15.60889; 32.52861
Result

Coup d'état successful

Belligerents
Sovereignty Council of Sudan 

 Sudanese Armed Forces   

Commanders and leaders
 Abdel Fattah al-Burhan
Casualties and losses
10 civilians killed, 140 injured[2]
Khartoum is located in Sudan
Khartoum
Khartoum
Location within Sudan

On 25 October 2021, the Sudanese military led by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan took control of the government in a military coup. At least five senior government figures were initially detained.[3] Civilian Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok refused to declare support for the coup and on 25 October called for popular resistance;[4] he was shifted to house arrest on 26 October.[5] Widespread internet outages were also reported. Later the same day, the Sovereignty Council was dissolved, a state of emergency was put in place,[6] and a majority of the Hamdok Cabinet and a large number of pro-government supporters had been arrested.[7]

Major civilian groups including the Sudanese Professionals Association and Forces of Freedom and Change called for civil disobedience and refusal to cooperate with the coup organisers.[8] Mass protests took place on 25 and 26 October against the coup, with lethal responses by the military.[8][9] At least 10 civilians were killed and over 140 injured during the first day of protests.[2] The Ministry of Foreign Affairs,[4][10] the Ministry of Information[1] and the Prime Minister's Office[5] refused to recognise the transfer of power, stating that the coup was a crime and that Hamdok remained prime minister.[1]

Background[edit]

2019 coup and revolution[edit]

Main articles: Sudanese Revolution, 2019–2024 Sudanese transition to democracy, and 2019 Sudanese coup d'état

President Omar al-Bashir, who had ruled the country since the 1989 coup, was overthrown by the military in April 2019 after weeks of mass protests, with the Transitional Military Council taking power.[11] Protests continued for several months. The Khartoum massacre took place in June. The protestors, represented by the Forces of Freedom and Change (FFC) agreed to a power-sharing deal with the military, creating the Sovereignty Council in August 2019.[12] According to the TMC–FFC agreement, the transition process would last 3 years and 3 months. The Sovereignty Council was to be led by a military figure for 21 months, followed by a civilian leader for 18 months. The handover was planned to take place in November 2021.[13]

September coup attempt[edit]

Main article: September 2021 Sudanese coup d'état attempt

In September 2021, a military coup attempt was thwarted by the government. According to the Minister of Information, the perpetrators were "remnants of the former regime" who tried to take control of the state broadcasters television buildings and the military central command. Following the incident, 40 officers were arrested.[14][15] Since then, tensions between the military and civilian leaders rose as military leaders started demanding reforms to the FFC coalition and called for the replacement of the cabinet.[16]

October 2021 pre-coup protests[edit]

On 16 October, pro-military protesters held a protest in Khartoum demanding a military coup. They were allowed to reach the gates of the presidential palace with a negligible police presence. They called for General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, chairman of the Sovereignty Council, to seize control and take over the country.[16] The pro-military protesters continued their sit-in outside the presidential palace in Khartoum through to 21 October.[17]

On 21 October, hundreds of thousands[18][19] of pro-civilian protestors in cities around Sudan including Khartoum, Omdurman, Port Sudan and Atbara took to the streets in support of the civilian government.[17]

On 24 October, pro-military protesters blocked major roads and bridges in Khartoum. Security forces used tear gas to disperse the crowds.[18]

Events[edit]

Around dawn on 25 October 2021,[4] Sudan's military arrested at least five senior Sudanese government figures. Later, widespread internet outages across Sudan were reported.[20][21][22][14]

According to a Reuters witness, members of the Rapid Support Forces were stationed on the streets of Khartoum during the time of the coup.[23]

Coup takes place and government dissolved[edit]

Later that day, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan declared a state of emergency and announced the dissolution of the government and the Sovereignty Council.[24] In a televised address, he stated that a new technocratic government would lead the country until the next elections, to be held in July 2023.[25] A day after the coup, al-Burhan said that his actions were justified in order to avoid a civil war in Sudan. He stated that the armed forces had had no option apart from arresting politicians who were allegedly carrying out "incitement" against the military.[26] Al-Burhan denied that he had carried out a coup d'état, but was rather "trying to rectify the path of the transition".[5]

Arrests of government members[edit]

Military forces placed civilian Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok under house arrest after besieging his home.[27] Hamdok was pressured to make a statement supporting the coup, which he refused. He called for Sudanese to resist the coup and "defend their revolution". In response to his refusal to support the coup, Hamdok was moved on 25 October to an unknown location.[4] On 26 October, al-Burhan said that Hamdok was being detained in al-Burhan's own home to protect Hamdok from "danger".[26]

On 25 October, Industry Minister Ibrahim al-Sheikh, the governor of Khartoum, Ayman Khalid and Information Minister Hamza Baloul were also taken into custody.[27][14] Also arrested was a member of the ruling Sovereignty Council, Mohammed al-Fiky Suliman, and Faisal Mohammed Saleh, a media adviser to the prime minister.[3] As of 25 October 2021, the location of the detainees is unknown.[28] Witness reports stated that the military had been deployed across the capital, restricting the movement of civilians. International flights were suspended after the closure of Khartoum airport.[21]

Resistance to the coup and killings of civilians[edit]

The coup was met with resistance from pro-democracy Sudanese civilians, many of whom took to the streets of Khartoum in protest.[29] The Sudanese Professionals Association and the FFC, two of the key coalitions that coordinated the Sudanese Revolution, called for mass civil disobedience and refusal to cooperate with the coup.[8] The National Umma Party similarly denounced the arrests of the government ministers and called on the public to protest in the streets.[14] The Sudanese Communist Party advocated for a workers' strike and mass civil disobedience.[14]

Following the arrest of the prime minister and civilian leaders, demonstrators started gathering in the streets of Khartoum, lighting car tires and setting up roadblocks.[30][28][31] Chants by the protestors included "the people are stronger", "retreat [to military rule] is impossible", "We are revolutionaries. We are free. We will complete the journey." Most schools, banks and businesses were closed.[32]

Sporadic gunfire around Khartoum occurred throughout 25 October.[29] According to the Information Ministry, the army used live rounds to disperse the protesters in the 25 October protests.[25] Military forces tried to remove protestors' barricades and attacked civilians.[8] The Central Committee of Sudanese Doctors reports that soldiers fired on protestors outside the Sudanese army headquarters in Khartoum, killing at least three people and injuring more than 80 people.[29] Seven civilians were killed and over 140 injured during the protests.[2][33] Military forces, as well as gangs of thugs in plainclothes, beat demonstrators in the street, with some being severely injured, and others being injured by cars driven into demonstrators.[34] Medical personnel in Khartoum reported rebuffing demands from gun-wielding soldiers to hand over wounded demonstrators to them.[34] Security forces conducted house-to-house arrests of protest organizers.[35] The Socialist Doctors' Association stated that the Royal Care hospital near army headquarters was in "urgent need of blood". Three hundred protestors were arrested.[9]

Plans for continued protests called the "Revolutionary Escalation Schedule" were published by the Joint Chamber of the Marches of the Millions for Civilian rule and Democratic Transition. The plans included vigils on highways and in front of government buildings and embassies, nightly marches starting on 29 October and mass protests on 30 October throughout Sudan, calling for a full transfer of power to civilians.[9]

Protests continued on 26 October, with protestors chanting slogans, blocking roads and burning tyres.[9] There was widespread civil disobedience, and schools, shops and petrol stations were closed in Geneina.[26] Protests outside of the capital took place in Omdurman, Atbara, Dongola, El-Obeid, Port Sudan, Gezira, and Red Sea State.[9][26][29]

Internet outages[edit]

Immediately following the incident, major Internet outages in Sudan were reported by international watchdog groups including NetBlocks. The outages were later corroborated by the Sudan Information Ministry.[14]

Media[edit]

Government-owned state television operated uninterrupted.[3]

Government ministries and embassies[edit]

Mariam al-Mahdi, Minister of Foreign Affairs rejected the coup, stating that "any coup in the country is rejected" and that Sudanese would "resist [the coup] by all civil means". She described the arrest of Hamdok as "very dangerous and unacceptable".[4] On 26 October, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs supported al-Mahdi's earlier statement[10] and al-Mahdi spoke directly to Associated Press, stating "We are still in our positions. We reject such coup and such unconstitutional measures."[36]

On 25 October, the Ministry of Information declared that Hamdok was "still the legitimate transitional authority in the country" and called for the "immediate release of the prime minister and all detained officials". The Ministry also stated that "all unilateral measures and decisions taken by the military component lack any constitutional basis, violate the law, and are considered a crime."[1]

On 26 October, the Prime Minister's office called for Hamdok's release from house arrest, stated that he continued to be "the executive authority recognized by the Sudanese people and the world", called for civil disobedience, and for the release of the other government members.[5]

The Sudanese ambassadors to France, Belgium and Switzerland stated their opposition to the coup and alignment with the civilian protestors. They stated, "We completely align ourselves with the heroic opposition [to the coup] followed by the entire world" and that their embassies represented "the Sudanese people and their revolution".[10]

Analysis[edit]

According to The New York Times, factors motivating the military to halt the transition to democracy included their personal risk of national or international war crimes charges and their risk of losing control of the gold trade.[32]

Jonas Horner of the International Crisis Group predicted strong civilian resistance to the coup and judged that the military had underestimated the likely strength of civil disobedience. He stated that the military "[hadn't] learned their lesson. As we saw post the revolution and post-Bashir, the streets were determined and civilians were willing to die for this."[26]

International reactions[edit]

Opposition to the coup[edit]

The coup, as well as the killings of civilian protestors, was widely denounced by the international community.[37][38] Jeffrey D. Feltman, the US special envoy for the Horn of Africa, said that the United States was "deeply alarmed" by the early reports of a military takeover[31][39] and that the coup was "utterly unacceptable".[40] The US government halted $700m in aid.[35] The EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell and Secretary General of the Arab League Ahmed Aboul Gheit also expressed concern.[41] Borrell called for "the security forces to immediately release those they have unlawfully detained".[40]

The United Nations Mission to Sudan condemned the coup and called for the immediate release of government officials.[41] The African Union issued a similar statement calling for the release of political leaders.[40]

The United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres condemned the coup, calling for the prime minister to be released. He added that the UN would "continue to stand" with the Sudanese people and that "there must be full respect for the constitutional charter to protect the hard-won political transition."[42][43]

The governments of France and Germany condemned the coup.[40][44]

Edmund Yakani, leader of Community Empowerment for Progress Organization, a South Sudanese NGO, condemned the arrest of Hamdok.[45] He said that the arrest of Hamdok, the chair of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), an eight-country regional trade bloc, was "the first time in the continent that a sitting chair of a regional economic body like IGAD [was] under detention." Yakani stated that Hamdok's arrest put at risk both the Sudanese peace process and the South Sudanese peace process, in which each country provided mediation for the other country's internal conflicts.[46]

Neutrality[edit]

China and Ethiopia urged dialogue between the Sudanese factions.[40][44]

References[edit]

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