Christian Foundation Calls on International Community to Support Sudan following Coup

He added, “We urge the international community to take urgent steps to support the transitional government and to unequivocally condemn the actions of the military.”

The CSW official noted that news of the deaths and injuries of protestors of the coup is particularly alarming.

The coup, according to the human rights foundation, raises “the spectra of the state violence witnessed under the previous regime.” 

“CSW is deeply alarmed by the actions of the military in Sudan, which has suspended key aspects of the power-sharing agreement with civilians in an apparent coup,” the leadership of the foundation said in the October 25 report.

In a televised statement on October 25, military leader Abdel Fattah al Burhan declared a state of emergency and dissolved the Sovereign Council and the Cabinet.

Al Burhan added that the military intends to hold power until elections are held in July 2023.

CSW leadership reports that national radio and television stations in Sudan were brought under military control and access to the internet was restricted.

The country’s international airport in Khartoum was also closed in the early hours of October 25, according to the report.

Ahead of the coup, there was a significant military presence in the capital Khartoum and reports emerged that members of the civilian government, including Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok, were under house arrest. 

After refusing to issue a statement in support of the military, Prime Minister Hamdok was reportedly moved to an unknown location.

As news of the coup broke, protestors reportedly took to the streets of Khartoum amidst reports of gunfire.

Sources that spoke to CSW said that at least two protesters have been killed and around six are seriously wounded.

In the October 25 report, the CSW founder condemned the harassment of protesters by the military and called for the release of those who had been arrested.

“We call on the military to release all civilian leaders, including Prime Minister Hamdok, and to ensure the safety of all who have taken to the streets to protest against the coup,” Mr. Mervyn said.

CSW leadership further reports that Sudan’s civilian-led transitional government has been in a power-sharing agreement with the military, signed by civilians who led protests that resulted in the removal of Omar al Bashir in April 2019.

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“Tensions between the civilian elements of the government and the military component had intensified since a reported attempted coup in September 2021,” the foundation reports, and explains, “The civilian government had split into two factions; one that supported the military and largely aligned with the former Bashir regime, and another representing the voices of civilians who led the December 2018 protests.”

The human rights foundation further reports that on October 21, nationwide mass demonstrations supporting the civilian-led government took place in response to other protests that had been organized by groups calling for a military takeover.

“It was revealed that numerous demonstrators had been paid to take to the streets in support of the military,” the foundation that has maintained its call to the international community to intervene in the Sudanese situation says.

The Sudanese coup has attracted global condemnation, with Bishop Yunan Tombe Trille of Sudan’s El Obeid Diocese calling on the international community to put pressure on the military in Sudan who have been accused of killing innocent protesters to show respect and value for human life.

In a Tuesday, October 26 interview with ACI Africa, Bishop Tombe Trille who also serves as the President of the Sudan Catholic Bishops’ Conference (SCBC) said the military coup that took place on October 25 is a retrogression that brings Sudan “back to the military junta rule.”

“We hear of the death of the people who express their feelings towards the coup against civilian governments…The international community should put their pressure on the junta to value the life of their citizens,” the Sudanese Catholic told ACI Africa. 

He added, “The church in Sudan has (never) remained silent under the Cross of Christ despite some changes which took place in Sudan; the attitude of the rulers towards the church never changed.”