By Our Reporter
Sudan’s prime minister has survived an apparent assassination attempt after an explosion near his convoy in the capital, Khartoum.
Abdalla Hamdok confirmed he was safe in a tweet shortly after the attack.
“I would like to assure the people of Sudan that I am safe and in good shape. Rest assured that what happened today will not stand in the way of our transition, instead it is an additional push to the wheel of change in Sudan,” he said.
The attack comes almost exactly a year after pro-democracy protesters forced the country’s powerful military to remove the former autocratic president, Omar al-Bashir, from power and replace him with a joint military-civilian administration.
Hamdok was appointed to lead a transitional government that will eventually lead to an election and full civilian rule. However, he faces stiff resistance from Sudan’s powerful military, Islamists and other former allies of Bashir.
No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack and it was unclear what type of device caused the explosion.
Footage posted online showed two white, Japanese-made SUVs used by Sudan’s top officials parked on a street, damaged and their widows broken. Another vehicle was also badly damaged in the blast. Several dozen people were seen at the site of the attack, chanting: “With our blood and soul, we redeem you, Hamdok.”
The protest movement that led the uprising against Bashir described the bombing as a terrorist attack. The statement by the Forces for the Declaration of Freedom and Change called on people “to take to the streets to show our unity and cohesion … and protect the transitional authority”.
Hamdok took office in August last year when the military and the pro-democracy movement reached a power-sharing deal after months of negotiations.
Khalid Omar, a prominent activist and secretary general of the Sudanese Congress party, said the attempt on Hamdok’s life was a new chapter in the conspiracy against the Sudanese revolution.
Irfan Siddiq, the British ambassador to Sudan, described the attack as deeply worrying and said it underlined the the fragile nature of the ongoing transition.
The blast came less than two months after an armed revolt from within Sudan’s security forces shut down the capital’s airport and left at least two people dead. The standoff between the armed forces and rogue intelligence officers paralysed street life in several parts of Khartoum, along with another western city.
Transitional authorities suggested in February they were prepared to hand over the former dictator Omar al-Bashir to the international criminal court along with other former officials wanted by the ICC.
The decision marked a dramatic shift from the previous official position of the country’s new rulers, though observers warned that many obstacles still needed to be overcome before the 76-year-old reached a courtroom.
Bashir, who came to power in 1989 in an Islamist backed coup, has been in prison in Khartoum since being forced from power.
Hamdok has confirmed the government will cooperate to some extent with the court’s efforts to prosecute those wanted for war crimes and genocide in connection with the Darfur conflict in Sudan in the 2000s.
Sudan’s transitional government is under pressure to end wars with rebel groups as it seeks to rehabilitate the country’s battered economy, attract much-needed foreign aid and deliver the democracy it promises.
The US Congress is considering a bill that would make financial assistance to Sudan contingent on further reform.
Nearly a year after Bashir was ousted, the country faces a dire economic crisis. Inflation stands at 60% and the unemployment rate in 2019 was 22.1%, according to the International Monetary Fund. The government has said 30% of Sudan’s young people, who make up more than half of the over 42 million population, are without jobs.
The blast came less than two months after an armed revolt from within Sudan’s security forces shut down the capital’s airport and left at least two people dead. The standoff between the armed forces and rogue intelligence officers paralysed street life in several parts of Khartoum, along with another western city.
