Sudanese court orders internet restoration

KHARTOUM, Sudan (AA) – A Sudanese court on Tuesday ordered the restoration of internet services across the country after 15 days of almost complete outage since last month’s military takeover.

"The General Court in Khartoum issued a ruling to restore internet services after 15 days of almost complete interruption,” the local private newspaper, Al-Sudani, reported without giving further details.

On Oct. 25, the head of Sudan’s ruling military council, Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, declared a state of emergency and dissolved the transitional Sovereign Council and government, triggering mass protests across the country.

The military also cut off internet service in the capital Khartoum and many parts of the country.

In early November, Volker Perthes, the UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Sudan and Head of the United Nations Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan (UNITAMS), said internet services remain cut off most of the time which he said limited people’s access to information and their ability to express their views and communicate.

Before the military takeover, Sudan was administered by a sovereign council of military and civilian officials which was overseeing the transition period until elections slated for 2023 as part of a precarious power-sharing pact between the military and the Forces for Freedom and Change coalition.

*Writing by Ibrahim Mukhtar in Ankara