UPDATE 2 - Sudan army foils coup attempt

UPDATES WITH MORE DETAILS, CHANGES HEADLINE, LEDE

KHARTOUM, Sudan (AA) – The Sudanese army foiled a coup attempt in the country, according to the military on Tuesday.

"The armed forces thwarted a coup attempt and the situation was completely under control,” Brigadier Al-Taher Abu Haja, the media adviser to the Chief of Staff, said in a statement cited by the state news agency SUNA.

State television earlier said a coup attempt was taking place and called on the citizens to confront it.

A senior Sudanese military source told Anadolu Agency that a putschist group was trying to take control of the country.

According to the source, at least 40 soldiers were arrested for their involvement in the coup attempt.

An Anadolu Agency reporter in Khartoum said military forces have been deployed on the main roads of the capital and closed main bridges linking Khartoum with the cities of Omdurman and Bahri.

Sporadic shooting was heard inside the Armored Corps in the southern part of Khartoum, according to eyewitnesses.

Sovereignty Council member Mohamed Al-Faki Suleiman confirmed to Anadolu Agency that the coup attempt was "contained."

"The situation is currently under control, as some of those involved in the coup attempt were arrested and subjected to interrogation to find out the details of the plot and those behind it,” he said.

Suleiman said the army was negotiating with military units of the Armored Corps in the Shagara region, south of Khartoum, to "surrender without resistance".

In an earlier Facebook post, Suleiman called on the Sudanese people to confront the coup attempt and “rise up to defend the country and protect the democratic transition."

According to Anadolu Agency correspondent, Sudanese authorities reopened the road in front of the army headquarters in Khartoum and the bridge linking the capital with Bahri

Writing by Ali abo Rezeg, Mohammed Amin