Sudan’s PM Abdalla Hamdok under house arrest – Report

Sudan’s Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok was put under house arrest after an unidentified military force besieged his house early on Monday, according to Al Hadath TV.

The Sudanese network cited unidentified sources, and an independent confirmation was not immediately available.

The reported move against Hamdok came shortly after Sudan’s military arrested several civilian officials including the prime minister’s media adviser and a member of the country’s ruling sovereign council.

Sudan has been on edge since a failed coup plot last month unleashed bitter recriminations between military and civilian groups meant to be sharing power following the toppling of former leader Omar al-Bashir.

Al-Bashir was toppled after months of street protests in 2019. A political transition agreed after his removal was meant to lead to elections by the end of 2023.

Al Jazeera’s Hiba Morgan, reporting from the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, said “telecommunications access has been restricted” in the country “so it’s very hard to get information on what’s going on”.

“What we do know for sure is that the minister of industry has been arrested. He put out a social media post just a few minutes before his arrest saying that there was a military presence outside his home,” said Morgan.

“We can also confirm that the minister of information has been arrested along with an advisor to the prime minister. The spokesperson for the sovereign council has also been arrested.

“The sovereignty council is a joint military and civilian body,” she added. “And these arrests by the military comes in light of very high tensions between the two sides.”