Sudan’s Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok has survived an assassination attempt in the capital, Khartoum, state media reported.
“An explosion hit as Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok’s car was driving by but thank God no one was hurt,” Ali Bakhit, the prime minister’s office director, said on Monday.
Abdalla Hamdok’s family confirmed he was safe following the explosion. Sudanese state TV said Hamdok was heading to his office when the blast took place, and that he was taken to a “safe place.”
No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.
Footage posted online showed two white, Japanese-made SUVs vehicles used by Sudan’s top officials parked on a street, damaged with widows broken. Another vehicle was badly damaged in the blast.
Hamdok was appointed prime minister last August, after pro-democracy protests forced the military to remove autocratic President Omar al-Bashir in April and replace it with a civilian-led government.
After months of negotiations, the military and the pro-democracy movement reached a power-sharing deal in August. The deal established a joint military-civilian, 11-member sovereign council that will govern Sudan for the next three years.
Military generals remain the de facto rulers of the country and have shown little willingness to hand over power to the civilian-led administration.
Source: Agencies
