Sudanese army chief says PM not arrested, but staying with him

KHARTOUM — General Commander of the Sudanese Armed Forces Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan on Tuesday denied the arrest of the Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok.

“The prime minister is not detained or arrested. He is staying with me at my own house at the Guest Palace,” said Al-Burhan at a press conference in the capital Khartoum.

Al-Burhan added that considering the safety threats, Hamdok will stay with him and return home “as soon as the danger is over.”

Al-Burhan further commended the efforts made by Hamdok to achieve the transition toward democracy.

Since early Monday, Hamdok and some of his ministers together with civilian members in the Sovereign Council were arrested.

The office of the prime minister said in a statement on Monday that a security force took Hamdok and his wife to unknown place.

The Forces of Freedom and Change Alliance (the civilian component in the ruling coalition), for its part, accused Al-Burhan of carrying out a military coup.

Demonstrations have taken to the street in Khartoum, rejecting the measures announced by Al-Burhan and demanding a civilian government.

Since the announcement of foiling a coup attempt on Sept. 21, the tensions between the military and civilian partners, who were assuming the transitional government, have continued to escalate.