Sudan arrests 3 coup critics as pressure mounts on military

CAIRO (AP) — Sudanese security forces detained three prominent pro-democracy figures overnight, their relatives and other activists said Wednesday, as internal and international pressure mounted on the country's military to walk back its coup.

The arrests came as protests denouncing Monday's takeover continued in the capital of Khartoum and elsewhere, and many businesses shut in response to calls for strikes.

Security forces kept up their heavy-handed response, chasing demonstrators in several neighbourhoods late Tuesday, according to activists who said some were shot and wounded.

At least six people have been killed in protests so far, according to doctors.

The coup threatens to halt Sudan's fitful transition to democracy, which began after the 2019 ouster of long-time ruler Omar al-Bashir and his Islamist government in a popular uprising.

It came after weeks of mounting tensions between military and civilian leaders over the course and pace of that process.

The African Union suspended Sudan — an expected move typically taken in the wake of coups.

The AU Peace and Security Council tweeted the decision on Wednesday, saying it would remain in place “until the effective restoration of the civilian-led Transitional Authority,” as the deposed government was known.

The AU plans to send a mission to Sudan to hold talks with rival parties.

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas, meanwhile, called the military's takeover a “catastrophic development,” warning that it would have “severe consequences” for Sudan's recent efforts to reintegrate into the international community after nearly three decades of isolation under al-Bashir.

“It is putting the country in a perilous situation and is calling the Sudan's democratic and peaceful future ... into question,” he said in a statement Tuesday.

Following widespread international condemnation, the military allowed deposed Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok and his wife to return home on Tuesday night.

Hamdok, a former U.N. economist, was detained along with other government officials when the military seized power.

Several Western embassies in Khartoum said Wednesday they will continue to recognise Hamdok and his Cabinet as “the constitutional leaders of the transitional government” of Sudan.

In a joint statement, the embassies of the European Union, the US, the UK, France and several other European countries called for the release of other detained officials and for talks between the military and the pro-democracy movement.

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