Sudan Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok survives assassination attempt
Monday, March 09, 2020
Sudan's Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok. Net Photo

Sudan's Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok has survived an assassination attempt in the capital, Khartoum, according to media reports. 

Hamdok was moved to a safe location after an explosion went off near his convoy in the capital of Khartoum. According to AlJazeera, members of Hamdok's office confirmed that "he is in a safe place."

There was no immediate claim of responsibility.

AlJazeera reports suggested that two white, Japanese-made SUVs vehicles used by Sudan’s top officials were parked on a street, damaged with windows broken. Another vehicle was badly damaged in the blast, the broadcaster said. 

 

Hamdok was appointed Prime Minister after months of negotiations when the military and the pro-democracy movement reached a power-sharing deal in August last year. The deal established a joint military-civilian, 11-member sovereign council that will govern Sudan for the next three years.

The deal was reached after the military removed President Omar al-Bashir in April and replaced him with a civilian-led government. 

Transitional authorities announced in February that they agreed to hand over al-Bashir to the ICC along with other former officials wanted by the ICC.

Hamdok has also confirmed that the government will cooperate with the International Criminal Court’s efforts to prosecute those wanted for war crimes and genocide in connection with the Darfur conflict in Sudan in the 2000s.

Nearly a year after al-Bashir’s ouster, the country faces an economic crisis. Inflation stands at a staggering 60 per cent and the unemployment rate was 22.1 per cent in 2019, according to the International Monetary Fund.