Egypt condemned on Monday an assassination attempt targeting Sudanese Prime Minister Abdullah Hamdouk in Khartoum. A statement from Ahmed Hafez, spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said “Egypt is satisfied with the failure of the sinful attempt and the survival of its sovereignty.”
The statement also stressed “the importance of concerted regional and international efforts to combat terrorism in all its forms and eliminate it.”
Hamdouk survived a car bombing in Khartoum, according to Sudanese media outlets.
Sudanese TV reported that Hamdouk has been transferred to a safe place, while the Sudanese Cabinet said, following the attack, “we assure the people and the world that the Prime Minister is fine.”
“I assure the Sudanese people that I am well. What happened will not stop the march to change, but will only add an additional push to the high wave. This revolution is protected by its peacefulness and the precious blood for a better tomorrow and sustainable peace,” Hamdouk said on his Twitter account shortly after the attack.
Footage posted online showed two white vehicles used by Sudan’s top officials parking on a street, damaged, with broken windows. Another vehicle was badly damaged in the blast.
Several dozen people were seen at the site of the attack, chanting, “By our souls, by our blood, we will redeem you, Hamdouk.”
A statement from the prime minister’s office said the attackers used explosives and firearms, and that a security officer was lightly wounded. The statement was read by Faisal Saleh, Sudan’s information minister and interim government spokesman.
The bombing occurred around 9:00am local time, around the time when Hamdouk usually heads to his office, according to the news agency.
Sudanese security cordoned off the site of the assassination attempt and began investigating the bombing.
Sudanese TV confirmed that all concerned security forces were investigating the attempt to assassinate Hamdouk, while no one has claimed responsibility for the attack.
Monday’s assassination attempt came less than two months after an armed revolt within Sudan’s security forces that shut down the capital’s airport and left at least two people dead. The tense stand-off between the armed forces and rogue intelligence officers paralysed street life in several parts of Khartoum.
For his part, Khaled Omar, the Secretary-General of the Sudanese Congress Party posted on his account on Twitter, “The attempt to assassinate Prime Minister Abdullah Hamdouk is a new episode of conspiracy to turn against the Sudanese revolution.”
He said, “The unity and cohesion of the popular forces that accomplished the revolution is the blocking wall to protect civil power. Terrorism should not deter us.”
Hamdouk was appointed Prime Minister in August, after pro-democracy protests forced the military to remove the government led by autocratic President Omar Al Bashir and replaced it with a civilian-led government.
He 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.
