Chair of Sudan Sovereign Council Discloses PM Location, Release Date
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The Head of Sudan's armed forces and Sovereign Council disclosed the location of Prime Minister Hamdok and his release date a day after arresting him.
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General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the leader of the Sudanese armed forces and chairman of the Sovereign Council (AFP)
Leader of the Sudanese armed forces General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan disclosed the location of detained Sudanese Prime Minister Abdullah Hamdok a day after the latter's arrest and the dissolution of the government in the Arab country.
Officials in al-Burhan's office said earlier today that he would hold a news conference on Tuesday. During said conference, the high-ranking military official said Prime Minister Hamdok was at his home - not abducted. Al-Burhan assured that Hamdok would return home either today or tomorrow: "As soon as the present threats are gone," he said.
The military leader alleged that Hamdok was unable to work freely, for he was "politically restrained."
"We arrested figures and ministers, but not all of them," al-Burhan added, citing that some of them could affect national unity and national security.
"The detainees facing criminal charges will remain under arrest while the rest of the detainees will be released," the leader announced. He also claimed that a Sovereign Council and government would be formed with the participation of all the states, with one minister chosen from each state.
Al-Burhan rejected labeling the incidents a 'coup': "Condemnations are expected, for there are countries that see our movements as a coup; however, they are not so. We did not stage a coup. We are trying to correct the transitional path," he asserted.
Hamdok says National Congress Party behind incidents
The party behind the latest military actions is the National Congress Party, which ruled the country under Omar al-Bashir, the Prime Minister's office in Khartoum said Tuesday.
The office said the armed forces were the facade of the coalition in the process of formation - which it said has the goal of 'finishing off' the revolution and the state - while in reality, political figures and militias are leading it.
The prime minister's office stressed that PM Hamdok was the popularly and internationally legitimate executive authority, and there is no alternative other than civil disobedience.
