UN chief condemns Sudan coup, urges release of detainees

By Michael Hernandez

WASHINGTON (AA) - UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres sharply denounced on Monday an ongoing coup in Sudan, urging the Sudanese military to "immediately" release detained politicians, including Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok.

"I condemn the ongoing military coup in Sudan," Guterres said on Twitter. "There must be full respect for the constitutional charter to protect the hard-won political transition. The UN will continue to stand with the people of Sudan."

Sudan's military arrested Hamdok and members of the civilian government in the capital Khartoum early Monday.

The Ministry of Culture and Information said the military arrested Hamdok after he refused to support what it described as a "coup".

Later Monday, Gen. Abdel-Fattah al-Burhan, the head of Sudan's ruling military council, declared a state of emergency and dissolved the Sovereign Council, which was created to run the country after the ouster of long-serving President Omar al-Bashir in 2019.

After a failed military coup last month, deep tensions between the military and the civilian administration erupted in Sudan amid recent rival protests in Khartoum.

Before the dissolution, Sudan was administered by the Sovereign Council of military and civilian authorities, which oversaw 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.