Report: Sudan coup attempt foiled
Suspected officers are Islamists and linked to former regime
Cairo: Sudanese authorities said they had foiled a coup attempt against the country’s military rulers, the Al Arabiya TV station reported on Wednesday.
Some 68 officers have been arrested and being questioned in connection with the attempt against the country’s Transitional Military Council (TMC), the television added, citing unidentified Sudanese sources.
Most officers involved in the bid are Islamists and linked to the regime of former president Omar Al Bashir, who was deposed by the army in April after months of protests against his 30-year rule.
There was no immediate official comment in Khartoum.
The alleged attempt comes after the military rulers and the opposition agreed through Ethiopia’s mediation to resume their talks on the transfer of power to a civilian administration. Previous negotiations collapsed over a deadly dispersal of a protest sit-in earlier this month.
The top US diplomat for Africa was due in Khartoum on Wednesday to join an international push to salvage a deal between Sudan’s military rulers and opposition groups.
Stalled talks over who should control a three-year transition towards elections collapsed after a June 3 raid on a protest sit-in that left dozens dead.
Stability in the nation of 40 million is crucial for a volatile region struggling with conflict and insurgencies from the Horn of Africa to Egypt and Libya.