Sudanese transitional council leader blames 'negligent' politicians for coup attempt

The head of Sudan's ruling body on Wednesday blamed a coup attempt on politicians' failure to address the needs of the public.

In his first time addressing the country since the attempted coup the day before, Sudanese Sovereignty Council leader Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan said politicians were prolonging political uncertainty in the country.

"There are those who seek to sit on chairs, and we have not seen political forces talking about elections or the concerns of citizens and solving their problems," he said.

The attempted coup threatened the fragile rule of the transitional government, put in place after the revolution of December 2018-August 2019.

State media did not immediately say who the coup plotters were, but the government announced later on in the day that the coup involved military officers and civilians linked to President Omar al-Bashir, who was ousted from power in a coup d'etat.

Sudan has been ruled by a transitional government since he was ousted, to remain in place until elections are held.

The slogans of the Sudanese revolution in freedom, justice, and peace "have been lost and gone under the chairs of power", Burhan said, adding that it was his duty to prevent one political party from monopolising power during the transitional period.

"Everyone wants a civil and democratic state that comes through elections," he said.

Burhan's comments echo those of his deputy, who on Wednesday blamed political factions for fostering enough discontent to allow a coup to take place.

Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, commonly known as Hemedti, said in a press conference that "politicians are the cause of the repeated coup attempts because they have neglected the needs of the citizens."

"Our country is going through a critical stage in its history," he said.

"We will not get out of our crisis unless we leave the treachery and the systematic targeting of our national institutions," he added.