In Sudan , the military let the kidnapped Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok return home after the government coup. His wife is now back in the couple's house in the capital Khartoum , Hamdok's office confirmed according to the army.
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However, the ex-head of government is "under strict surveillance" at home, the statement said. It is unclear whether the disempowered head of government is under house arrest or can move freely. Hamdok's office said other former government officials as well as civil society leaders were still in "detention in unknown locations".
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken has now phoned Hamdok. Blinken "welcomed the release of the Prime Minister from custody," said the US State Department . Blinken had again appealed to the Sudanese army to release all civilian leaders arrested after Monday's military coup and to guarantee their safety.
Federal Foreign Minister Heiko Maas also called for Hamdok and the other prisoners to be released. The removal of the civil transitional government must be reversed. Otherwise Germany will not continue its support under these conditions.
"The military coup in Sudan is a catastrophic development," said Maas. "I firmly condemn the actions of the military, which not only illegally detained Prime Minister Hamdok and others, but also used violence against those who took to the streets for democracy in Sudan." In order to act together, Germany is coordinating closely with its partners, said Maas.
UN Security Council is still struggling to find an agreement
Meanwhile, after an emergency meeting behind closed doors, the United Nations Security Council is still looking for a unified line. As the AFP news agency learned from diplomats at the UN headquarters in New York, the highest body of the international community is still negotiating an official statement.
The UN Security Council has expressed concern about the situation in Sudan and is expected to publish an official statement on Tuesday evening US time or on Wednesday, said a diplomat. Another diplomat promised that the coup should be condemned in the statement.
According to the information, the German diplomat Volker Perthes, UN representative for Sudan, was connected via video from Khartoum during the emergency meeting . However, Perthes was not able to say whether the deposed Prime Minister Hamdok had regained his freedom of movement or was still under arrest.
The transitional government was already fragile
The military had violently seized power on Monday in the African country with around 44 million inhabitants. The Sudanese general Abdel-Fattah Burhan declared a state of emergency a few hours after Hamdok's arrest and declared the interim government dissolved.
This ended one of the most astonishing Arab-African rebellions of the past decade, which was supposed to transform Sudan into a peaceful democracy after many years of dictatorship under Omar al-Bashir. The military coup had been looming for months after tensions increased between civilian members and army officials in Sudan's fragile transitional government.
Hamdok's office accuses military leaders of coordinating with Islamists who have called for a military government. Politicians with connections to the now-defunct National Congress Party of the ruler Omar al-Bashir, who was overthrown in 2019, also supported the coup.
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