Sudan’s military council foils coup attempt

Sudan’s ruling military council has foiled a coup attempt, a top general has announced on state television, saying that 12 officers and four soldiers have been arrested.

The announcement late on Thursday closely followed the ruling military and civilian protesters agreeing to end a political impasse, after the army ousted longtime ruler Omar al-Bashir in April on the back of a popular uprising.

“Officers and soldiers from the army and national intelligence and security service, some of them retired, were trying to carry out a coup,” Gen Jamal Omar of the ruling military council said in a statement broadcast live on state television. “The regular forces were able to foil the attempt.” He did not say when the attempt was made.

Omar said of the 12 officers arrested, five were retired, and that security forces were looking for the mastermind of the attempted coup. “This is an attempt to block the agreement which has been reached by the Transitional Military Council and the Alliance for Freedom and Change that aims to open the road for Sudanese people to achieve their demands,” Omar said.

The announcement late on Thursday came as legal advisers of the ruling military council and protest leaders were going through the details of their agreement at a luxury hotel in the capital, Khartoum.

Via The Guardian