Sudan Prime Minister’s house surrounded and top officials reportedly arrested
Khartoum, Sudan (CNN)The Khartoum home of Sudan’s Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok appears to be surrounded by the military, according to images from the scene.
It is unclear if the military is there to protect Hamdok, or if he is under house arrest in the capital
Various top government officials have also reportedly been arrested and taken to prison by men wearing military police uniforms, according to witnesses to the arrests posting on social media as well as Reuters and other media on the ground, citing unnamed government sources.
Those arrested reportedly include government ministers and members of the Sovereignty Council of Sudan. CNN cannot independently verify the arrests.
Flights from Khartoum International Airport have also been suspended, a source in the Civil Aviation Authority told CNN.
Global flight-tracking service Flightradar24 shows no flights departing the airport, and one flight on approach. It is not clear if that incoming flight will be allowed to land.
Internet monitoring site NetBlocks reported internet connectivity was “severely disrupted” in Sudan on Monday, “manifesting in a telecommunications blackout for many.”
“Real-time network data show national connectivity at 34% of ordinary levels; incident ongoing,” NetBlocks added.
A source in Khartoum told CNN calls are not connecting for people in Sudan and the internet is down.
Witnesses said as of Monday morning local time, demonstrators were gathering in the streets of the capital to protest the arrests, lighting bonfires and setting up roadblocks.
It comes after the Sudan Professionals’ Association, a Sudanese pro-democratic political group, called on people to take to the streets to resist “the military coup.
Political crisis
Military and civilian groups have been sharing power in the east African country in an uneasy alliance, dubbed the Sovereign Council, since the toppling of long-standing President Omar al-Bashir in 2019.
But following a failed coup attempt in September attributed to forces loyal to Bashir, military leaders have been demanding reforms to the Forces of Freedom and Change (FFC) coalition and the replacement of the cabinet.
Civilian leaders, however, have accused them of aiming for a power grab — and Sudan is now grappling with the biggest political crisis in its two-year-old transition.
Thousands of demonstrators gathered in front of the presidential palace in Khartoum on October 17 calling for the military to seize power. They were organized by a military-aligned faction of the FFC, and called for Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, head of the armed forces and Sudan’s joint military-civilian Sovereign Council, to initiate a coup and overthrow the government.
Days later, thousands of protesters took to the streets in a number of cities in support of civilian rule within the country’s power-sharing government.
This is a developing story.
Additional reporting by Reuters.
Source: http://rss.cnn.com/~r/rss/cnn_topstories/~3/tWIUCTgiI24/index.html
