Sudan paramilitary chief faults politicians over failed coup

Sudanese paramilitary leader and vice-president of the ruling sovereign council Mohamed Hamdan Daglo pointed a finger of blame Wednesday at politicians after a failed coup attempt, state media reported.

"Politicians are the main cause behind coups because they have neglected the average citizen... and are more concerned fighting over how they can stay in power," Daglo said, quoted by the official news agency SUNA. 

"This has created disenchantment among citizens," the feared paramilitary chief added in an address to troops at a military camp west of Khartoum.

Sudan's fragile transitional government said it foiled an attempted coup Tuesday involving military officers and civilians linked to the ousted regime of longtime autocrat Omar al-Bashir.

Information Minister Hamza Baloul squarely blamed "supporters of the defunct regime".

The military said "most" of those involved had been apprehended, including 11 army officers.

Daglo, head of the Rapid Support Forces which has been accused of atrocities in the western region of Darfur, insisted his forces had foiled several coup attempts since the ouster of Bashir.

Under an August 2019 power-sharing deal, Sudan is ruled by a sovereign council of civilian and military representatives tasked with overseeing a transition to full civilian rule.

Bashir, a one-time general, came to power on the back of an Islamist-backed military coup in 1989.

Since his ouster, the toppled autocrat has been jailed in Khartoum awaiting trial.

He is also wanted by the International Criminal Court for his pursuit of a deadly scorched-earth campaign against ethnic minority rebels in Darfur.