NAIROBI, Kenya, Oct 26- The United Nations Security Council is set to meet ‘promptly’, following the Monday coup in Sudan.
The military has since dissolved civilian rule, arrested political leaders, and declared a state of emergency.
The coup leader, Gen Abdel Fattah Burhan, is said to have blamed political infighting according to the BBC.
Kenya’s Ambassador to the UN Ambassador Martin Kimani, who had on Monday led a United Nations Security mission meeting with Niger President Mohamed Bazoum, said he had also “expressed regret in my national capacity: we have been clear as Kenya of our support for the civilian-led government in Sudan.”
The African Union has also called for the “immediate resumption of consultations between civilians and military within the framework of the Political Declaration and the Constitutional Decree.”
AU Chairperson Moussa Faki Mahamat said in a statement that dialogue and consensus is the only relevant path to save the country and its democratic transition.
The Chairperson further called for the release of all arrested political leaders and the necessary strict respect of human rights.
Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok and his wife are among those reported to have been detained and put under house arrest, along with members of his cabinet and other civilian leaders. Their whereabouts are unknown.
They are part of a transitional government designed to steer Sudan towards democracy after the rule of the former president, Omar al-Bashir.
The UK’s special envoy for Sudan and South Sudan, Robert Fairweather, tweeted that military arrests of civilian leaders were “a betrayal of the revolution, the transition and the Sudanese people”.
The US, EU, UN and Arab League have also expressed deep concern. The military and civilian transitional authorities have ruled together since 2019 when President Omar Bashir was toppled after months of street protests.
The power-sharing deal between the military and a loose coalition of groups – the Forces for Freedom and Change – saw the launch of the Sovereign Council.
It was scheduled to rule the country for another year – with the aim of holding elections and transitioning to civilian rule.
Phone lines and the internet have since been severed in Khartoum while barricades were still burning along roadways.
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