Sudan's PM resigns as deadly crackdown on protesters goes on

Sudan's civilian Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok resigned Sunday, more than two months after a coup and following another deadly crackdown on protesters, with the military now firmly in control.

Sudan had been undergoing a fragile journey toward civilian rule since the 2019 ouster of autocrat Omar al-Bashir, but was plunged into turmoil when military leader General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan launched his coup on October 25 and detained Hamdok. 

Hamdok was reinstated on November 21 under a deal promising elections for July 2023, but local media had reported he had been absent from his office for days, with rumours swirling over his possible resignation.

"I have tried my best to stop the country from sliding towards disaster," Hamdok said Sunday evening, addressing the nation on state television.

Sudan "is crossing a dangerous turning point that threatens its whole survival", he said.

Hamdok was the civilian face of the country's fragile transition, while Burhan has been the country's de facto leader following Bashir's ouster.

Hamdok cited "the fragmentation of the political forces and conflicts between the (military and civilian) components of the transition" and said that "despite everything that has been done to reach a consensus... it has not happened".

Mass protests against the coup have continued even after Hamdok was reinstated,  as demonstrators distrust veteran general Burhan and his promise to guide the country toward full democracy.

Protesters also charged that the deal to reinstate Hamdok simply aimed to give the cloak of legitimacy to the generals, whom they accused of trying to continue the regime built by Bashir.