Sudan – Sudan’s military authorities have again arrested a former senior government official during a crackdown on a protest against a military coup on Monday. At least two demonstrators were killed by the security forces during the protest.
Demonstrators once again took to the streets around Sudan on Monday to protest an October military coup. Thousands of people rallied in Khartoum and the city of Omdurman against last year’s military coup and the arrest of scores of pro-democracy activists. Protests had begun with crowds waving national flags and carrying red balloons because the rallies coincided with Valentine’s Day.
Mohammed Al-Faki Suliman detained
The Unionist Alliance party said Mohammed Al-Faki Suliman, a former member of the ruling Sovereign Council, was detained in Khartoum by the officials. Reportedly, Sudanese security forces stopped Al-Faki Suliman’s vehicle as he was heading from his home to the party’s headquarters. Subsequently, the officials arrested him.
Al-Faki Suliman was also deputy head of a government-run agency tasked with dismantling the legacy of former autocratic President Omar Al-Bashir’s regime. Reportedly, on Sunday, security forces arrested two former members of the agency. The agency is known as The Committee to Dismantle the Regime of June 30, 1989.
Reportedly, an official said that the three members were taken to the Souba prison in Khartoum, the capital of Sudan. The official also said that the members were facing charges related to the work of the agency.
Suliman was also arrested earlier by the officials. However, he was released a month later as part of a deal between the military and then-Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok. Reportedly, earlier, authorities also arrested Khalid Omar again. Omar was the minister in the ousted transitional government.
An Islamist-backed military coup led by army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan brought unrest in the country last year.
