Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok survives assassination attempt on convoy
- Hamdok was appointed to head a transitional government after the overthrow of long-time president Omar al-Bashir last year
- Images broadcast on regional TV channels and social media showed a convoy including several damaged white SUVs and a badly damaged car
Sudan’s prime minister survived an assassination attempt Monday after an explosion went off near his convoy in the capital of Khartoum, Sudan’s state media said.
Abdalla Hamdok’s office and his family confirmed he was safe following the explosion. Sudanese state TV said Hamdok, a long-time economist, was heading to the cabinet’s offices when the attack took place, and that he was taken to a “safe place”.
Hamdok himself later wrote on his official Twitter account that he was unharmed.
“I assure the Sudanese people that I am well and completely healthy,” he said. “What happened will not stop the march toward change.”
The attack highlighted the fragility of Sudan’s transition to civilian rule, almost a year after pro-democracy protesters forced the military to remove autocratic President Omar al-Bashir from power and replace him with a joint military-civilian government.
However, military generals remain the de facto rulers of the country and have shown little willingness to hand over power to civilians.