Sudanese Army: This is a coup attempt
The spokesman for the Sudanese army, Nabil Abdullah, affirmed that the events that have occurred in Sudan since April 15 are a “coup attempt” that seeks to take over the government rather than a political disagreement.
“This scourge began with the mobilization of the Rapid Support Forces (HDK) forces in the capital and provinces, and the suspicious actions of their leaders inside and outside the country,” Abdullah told state television. At 9am on Saturday, rebel militias harassed our forces around the Ciudad Deportiva complex in the Erkevit district of the capital. At the same time, it attacked our forces at the Meravi airport in the north.”
Abdullah said: “These events are a coup attempt that seeks to take over the government rather than a political disagreement.”
“That day, these forces tried to take over all the military installations in the country, including the general command of the army in the capital. Now everything is under our control. This was the first successful phase. At that time, most of the HDK members surrendered to our military units. The clashes yesterday were limited to the army headquarters and the airport framework. We didn’t want to expand operations so our citizens wouldn’t be harmed and civilians wouldn’t be killed. Now the rebel forces are trying to flee the capital. We’re going to move into phase two by going after them and expanding operations. We will be very careful not to cause losses among our citizens. We call on citizens to be careful at this stage and on these days, to limit their movements.”
In the army statement, it was noted that the chairman of the Sovereignty Council and army commander, General Abdulfettah al-Burhan, issued a decree pardoning HDK “militia” officers and soldiers who threw down their weapons.
FIRE STARTED IN UNITED STATES CONVO
On the other hand, the US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, reported that yesterday shots were fired at the US diplomatic convoy in Sudan.
Blinken, who is in Japan for the G7 Foreign Ministers’ meeting, said there were no casualties or injuries in the incident in Khartoum, the capital of Sudan, but the parties were told the attack was unacceptable. Noting that the investigation into the incident is ongoing, Blinken said that the first findings showed that HDK troops were involved in the incident.
US State Department spokesman John Kirby also stated that despite ongoing security concerns and the closure of the Khartoum airport, there are no plans to evacuate US personnel in Sudan at this stage.
On the morning of April 15, armed clashes broke out between the Sudanese army and the HDK paramilitary in Khartoum, the capital of Sudan, and in several cities. The disagreement between the army and the HDK over the military security reform, which provides for the “full participation of the HDK in the army”, had become a hot-button conflict in recent months.
Volker Perthes, Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General in Sudan, announced that the death toll in the conflict in Sudan has reached 185 and more than 1,800 civilians and soldiers have been injured. (AA)