Pretext Of Avoiding Civil War, Sudanese Armed Forces Commander Says Military Action Doesn't Mean Coup

Illustration of military coup in Sudan. (Wikimedia Commons/Agence France-Presse)

JAKARTA - The commander-in-chief of the Sudanese Armed Forces has defended the military's seizure of power, arguing that it toppled the government to avoid civil war, despite opposition from protesters who took to the streets yesterday.

Monday's military takeover halted Sudan's transition to democracy, two years after a popular uprising toppled longtime Islamist autocrat Omar al-Bashir.

On Tuesday evening, the union group Sudanese Professionals Association said it had "reports of backlash by coup forces on protest gathering places" in the capital Khartoum and other cities, "using bullets, and attempts to break through barricades".

The Facebook page for Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok's office, which appears to be still controlled by Hamdok loyalists, said several ministers and civilian politicians were still being held at an unknown location. Witnesses said unknown people arrested Faiz al-Salik, Hamdok's former media adviser.

Speaking at his first press conference since announcing the takeover, the Commander-in-Chief of the Sudanese Armed Forces General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan said the army had no choice but to sideline politicians who incite against the armed forces. He said the military action did not mean a coup.

"The danger we saw last week could lead the country into civil war", he said, referring to demonstrations against a possible coup.

PM Hamdok, who was arrested on Monday along with other members of his cabinet, was not injured and has been taken to Burhan's own home, the general said.

"The prime minister is at his house. However, we were afraid he was in danger so he was placed with me in my house".

Later on Tuesday, sources close to PM Abdalla Hamdok said he and his wife were at their home and under tight security. Family sources said they were unable to contact PM Hamdok or his wife by phone.

To note, General Burhan appeared on TV on Monday to announce the dissolution of the Sovereign Council, a body formed after Bashir's ouster to share power between the military and civilians and lead Sudan to free elections.

The only people on the streets other than protesters were security forces deployed around the presidential palace and the defense ministry.

Banks and ATMs were also closed. Mobile applications that are widely used for remittances cannot be used.

"We are paying the price for this crisis", said a man in his 50s who was looking for medicine in one of the pharmacies that were almost out of stock said angrily.

"We can't work, we can't find bread, no service, no money", he criticized.

Separately, the Sudanese military is seen to have underestimated civilian opposition on the street, according to Jonas Horner of the International Crisis Group.

"They haven't learned their lesson. As we saw post-revolution and post-Bashir, roads are defined and civilians are willing to die for this", he said.