Sudanese Military Chief Says Events in Country Should Not Be Seen as Military Coup

KHARTOUM (Sputnik) - The events in Sudan should not be qualified as a military coup, these are just attempts to correct some mistakes committed during the transition period, armed forces commander-in-chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan said in an interview with Sputnik.

"The whole world is confused, and to be honest, those who look at the political map of Sudan are unaware of many facts. Those who consider this a coup are wrong, since we are in power, and we also would have had to be replaced as a result of a coup. What happened is a correction of our path, a correction of the transition period. Those who consider it a coup can consider any corrective movement in the government a coup, for example 12 April [2019]," al-Burhan said.

The Sudanese military chief emphasized that the steps taken by the military, including government dissolution, were needed to eventually secure stability.

Abdel Fattah al-Burhan said that the country's military had to act, as the transition period was marked by violations and lack of consensus among politicians.

"If we assess the political and social situation in the country, the track of the transition period was replete with violations. During the transition period, the parties failed to form a coalition, to reach a consensus on any topics, they failed to agree on the legislative assembly and provincial governors, they even failed to get political forces involved," al-Burhan recalled.

Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok was temporarily relocated from his residence due to information about a possible assault, Sudanese military leader added.

"We had information that an attack could be committed in the first moments of the unrest; therefore we decided to keep him away. And indeed, several groups started to gather near his house when he was there, but when we felt that actions were beginning, we took him away from his house. Now he has returned home," al-Burhan said.

Sputnik is the first media to interview the Sudanese military leader after recent developments in the country that saw several senior officials detained and the government dissolved.

On Monday, the country's military detained Hamdok and several other members of the government. Al-Burhan, who is also the head of the Sudanese Transitional Sovereign Council, declared a state of emergency in the country and the dissolution of the government. The next day, the prime minister and his wife were reported to have returned home.