Truss condemns Sudan military coup and urges release of wrongly detained civilians

Foreign Secretary Liz Truss has condemned the military coup in Sudan and called on the military to place the democratic transition back on course.

On 25 October the Sudanese military detained the country’s interim prime minister, declared a state of emergency and dissolved its civilian government in a coup d’état.

Truss said in a statement yesterday evening: “The United Kingdom strongly condemns the military coup in Sudan on 25 October. In 2019, the Sudanese agreed on a unique partnership between civilians and military in order to steer Sudan’s transition to full democracy. That partnership delivered huge progress, from abolishing oppressive laws to economic reforms and the Juba Peace agreement to help end decades of conflict.

“The military’s unilateral actions threaten all of these gains. In detaining civilian politicians and activists, and unilaterally amending the 2019 Constitutional Declaration, the military have undermined the spirit and letter of both that hard-won 2019 compromise, and also the Juba Peace Agreement. The Sudanese people have taken to the streets in their millions in recent days to reject these actions. International condemnation has been fast and widespread.

“It is still however possible for Sudan’s transition to get back on course. The United Kingdom welcomes and supports mediation efforts and urge the military to engage in a spirit of compromise. We note the release of four detainees on 4 November, but call for the immediate and unconditional release of all those detained since 25 October, the restoration of the Constitutional Declaration as a starting point for dialogue, and for security forces to respect the right to peaceful protest.

“The United Kingdom will continue to support the Sudanese people in their demands for freedom, peace and justice. The military have the opportunity to put the transition back on course; the United Kingdom urges them to do so now.”

In 2019 dictator and alleged war criminal Omar Hassan al-Bashir was removed from power by the Sudanese Armed Forces after months of demonstrations.

Since 2019’s coup a coalition of military and a loose group of civilian groups named the Forces for Freedom and Change (FFC) have ruled through the transitional Sovereign Council, set to caretake the country’s political system until an election was organised by 2023.

Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok was been arrested and transported to an undisclosed location after refusing to issue a statement in support of the coup. He has been on house arrest since 26 October.
Swathes of government ministers, members of political parties, lawyers, civil society activists, journalists, human rights defenders, and protest leaders remain detained in secret locations, without access to their families or lawyers.

Hamdok had recently set the deadline of November 17th for a complete transition to civilian rule.
A further coup attempt attributed to pro-Bashir elements of the military failed last month. The civilian government has previously approved a measure to extradite Bashir over his outstanding warrant from the International Criminal Court relating to charges of genocide and crimes against humanity throughout the Darfur conflict between 2003 and 2008.

However, the military has continued to block any attempt to bring Bashir to face justice.
Current leading military and paramilitary figures Burhan, Hemedti and others were also implicated in alleged war crimes in Darfur under Bashir, but do not currently have any outstanding cases against them.
Since declaring its independence from Anglo-Egyptian rule in 1956 Sudan has experienced multiple coups and coup attempts.