Qatari-Turkish scheme to spark Muslim Brotherhood-led coup in Khartoum thwarted

Mahmoud Mohammadi

Since the ousting of former President Omar al-Bashir from power in Sudan, the Muslim Brotherhood, through various ways and conspiracies, has been seeking to overthrow the transitional military council, which is temporarily in power in the country.

The group, support by Turkey and Qatar, developed schemes to seize power in Sudan and abort the popular revolution, by sowing discord between the army forces and revolutionary forces.

At a time when the forces of Freedom and Change and the Revolutionary Front in Sudan agreed to speed up the formation of a civil authority, a new coup attempt by the Muslim Brotherhood emerged, in which a number of leaders of the Islamist movement and remnants of the dissolved National Congress Party participated. But the Sudanese Armed Forces managed to thwart the attempt.

In the same context, social media users circulated a video showing the leader of the recent coup in Sudan, namely Hashim Abdelmutalab, who confessed during investigations that he belong to the Muslim Brotherhood group.

Coup leader Gen Hashim Abdelmutalab and a number of senior Sudan Armed Forces officers and leading figures of the former regime were immediately detained for interrogation following the coup attempt.

On Thursday, the authorities arrested Lt Gen Imadeldin Adawi, former armed forces Chief of Staff, Sayed El Khatib, Director of the Centre for Strategic Studies and leading member of the National Congress Party, and Tarig Hamza, executive director of Sudatel Telecommunications Company.

A part of the video recording of Abdelmutalab’s interrogation was leaked to the media. The former army Chief of Staff admitted he masterminded the failed coup attempt. He said he has been a member of the Islamist Movement since he was a lieutenant in the Sudanese army.

More than 70 army officers, including two with the rank of lieutenant general, 18 major generals, along with 15 officers of the National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS), and dozens of Islamists and National Congress Party members have been accused of planning the foiled coup.

Reportedly, 54 of them have been arrested, while others went into hiding.

Observers of the Sudanese scene confirm that the Muslim Brotherhood, with the help of the Turkish regime and the Qatari funds, is working to drag the country into whirlpools of chaos in order to create an opportunity to return to political life.

Ahmed Ezzeddine, a researcher specializing in African affairs, said in a remarks to The Reference that the Muslim Brotherhood, whether working under the banner of the international organization or alone, like in the Sudanese situation, lives in chaos, political and security turmoil. Therefore, they seek to ignite strife among large national institutions such as the army, police and judiciary, as well as between parties.

He also added that the Muslim Brotherhood is thinking every day about a plan to bring the Sudanese revolution to the abyss.

Meanwhile, Lebanese political analyst Nidal al-Saba said that the Muslim Brotherhood’s movements in Sudan aiming at disrupting the settlement between the political components is a response to a comprehensive Brotherhood coup being attempted by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the Arab region.

Saba added that Erdogan launched the second wave of the Muslim Brotherhood, as well as an attempt to export the Arab Spring again.