Atdoes this threaten the creation of a Russian stronghold on the Red Sea in Sudan, the military has removed the civilian government from power and announced the reform of the entire system of governance of the country. Why in one of the poorest countries in Africa, for the second time in two years, the military dissolves the cabinet – in the material of RBC
On the morning of October 25, the Arab TV channel Al hadath reported that in Sudan, the military detained the country’s Prime Minister Abdullah Hamduk and several government ministers. The director of the Al Jazeera office in Khartoum, al-Muslim al-Kabashi, clarified that among the detainees were Information Minister Hamza Ballula and the head of the Arab Socialist Baath Party, Ali ar-Rih al-Sanhuri, as well as the governor of Khartoum, the capital of Sudan, Ayman Nimr.
Later it became known that Hamduk was placed under house arrest, and the head of the Sovereign Council governing Sudan, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, assumed responsibility for all these actions. He also announced the introduction of a state of emergency in the country and the dissolution of the Council and Cabinet of Ministers.
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In a televised address, al-Burhan said that rivalry between politicians and calls for violence from them forced him to take action to protect the country and “correct the course of the revolution,” the BBC reported. Al-Burhan announced that the military will appoint a new government, it will be technical and will prepare elections,which will take place in July 2023. “The armed forces will continue to work to complete the democratic transit until they hand over the government to a civilian, elected government,” al-Burhan said, according to the Associated Press. The general also promised that a legislative body will be created with the participation of young people.
The military failed to completely isolate the members of the overthrown government, so various messages appeared on social networks on behalf of cabinet members throughout the day. So, the Ministry of Culture and Information of Sudan posted an appeal on behalf of Prime Minister Hamduk on Facebook in the afternoon. «Hamduk <..."Asks the Sudanese to keep the peace and occupy the streets to defend their revolution," it says. The Ministry of Information called al-Burhan's words "the announcement of the seizure of power by a military coup."
Several hundred people actually took to the streets of Khartoum in the afternoon. According to the Ministry of Information, firearms were used against demonstrators near the headquarters of the Ministry of Defense. It was also reported that the military blocked roads and bridges in the city. The lack of mobile communication and Internet, recorded by foreign journalists, prevented the clarification of the situation.
How is the governance of Sudan arranged
The current coup attempt is the second in the last month. On the night of September 21, a group of officers tried to overthrow the civilian government, but failed. According to media reports, then among the rebels were supporters of President Omar al-Bashir, who was deposed in April 2019. According to the publication Middle East Eye, there was a circle of conspirators, different from the current one.
Al-Bashir, who has ruled the country since 1989, was removed from power by the military amid protests that have continued since December 2018. In 2009, the International Criminal Court issued a warrant for his arrest on suspicion of involvement in crimes against humanity and war crimes.
After the removal of al-Bashir, power passed to the Military Council, which was opposed by the civil opposition. In July 2019, the opposition and the military managed to reach an agreement and form authorities. For three years and three months, the supreme governing body became the Sovereign Council of 11 people – five military and civilian and another civiliana person agreed by both parties. The council was to be headed by a military man for the first 21 months, and a civilian for the next 18 months. The first head of the council was military representative Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, who occupied the presidential palace and became the formal head of the country. In November of this year, he was supposed to transfer power to a civilian leader.
The transition period was supposed to last until November 2022. During this time, the Government had to agree on ending internal conflicts in the regions of Darfur, South Kordofan, Blue Nile. Five rebel groups were reconciled in August last year, and in February of this year, representatives of the rebels joined the Sovereign Council. However, in order for the agreements to work, they had to be included in the constitutional declaration. The supporters of the military considered that the introduction of changes nullified the declaration and therefore the military have the right to continue the rule, some civilian representatives opposed it.
Why did the military decide on a coup
The basic reason for the current coup is called dissatisfaction with the military reforms of Prime Minister Hamduk, associate professor of the Russian State University for the Humanities Sergey Seregichev told RBC. His actions, according to the expert, were aimed at limiting the powers of the security services. “After the reform, the special services had to stop getting into politics and becompletely depoliticized, turn into a tool for ensuring national security,” says the expert. Hamduk’s government also managed to ensure that Sudan was excluded from the American list of countries that sponsor terrorism. The corresponding decision was made at the end of last year, and Washington began to provide financial support to the Sudanese economy.
The conspirators played on the general deterioration of the economic situation in the country, to which they themselves had a hand by arranging a blockade of Port Sudan, Seregichev continues. “The conspirators accused the civil authorities of destroying everything and everything and causing chaos, trying to convince the people that only representatives of the old school will be able to save Sudan once again,” says Sergeyseregichev.
Neither the civilian nor the military faction of the leadership of Sudan could achieve unity in their ranks, internal rivalry was constantly going on, writes Joseph Sigl from the University of Maryland. In recent months, the military has been behind the organization of several protests.
How the world reacted
The US and France condemned the coup, China called on all parties to reach a negotiated solution. Russia expressed the conviction that “the Sudanese can and should solve internal problems on their own.” The events in Sudan have become “evidence of an acute systemic crisis that has engulfed all areas of the country’s political and economic life,” Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.
According to Sergeyaseregichev, the development of the situation will depend on the international reaction, primarily the United States. “It is possible that the Americans will insist that the military make friends with the civilians, so that both of them make mutual concessions,” he admits. If the United States follows a tough scenario, returns the sanctions regime and cancels the restructuring of the country’s external debts, it will “kill Sudan even faster than the popular protests against this coup,” he continues.
What will happen to the Russian object on the Red Sea
In the last year of al-Bashir’s rule, Moscow and Khartoum agreed to build a logistics center for the Russian Navy on the Red Sea. In July of this year, Vladimir Putin submitted the relevant agreement for ratification to the State Duma. According to the text of the document, it is assumed that the staffing of the facility will not exceed 300a maximum of four ships, including warships with a nuclear power plant, will be able to stay there at the same time, provided that nuclear and environmental safety standards are observed. In addition, the Russian side receives the right to use the airspace of Sudan for flights aimed at implementing the agreement.
“As for the base, I was in no hurry to make any predictions. Whoever eventually becomes the head of the country, the new authorities will bargain with Moscow about the base. The base is an important asset for Sudan,” Sergei Seregichev predicts.
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