Al Jazeera TV says bureau chief in Sudan detained

KHARTOUM, Sudan

Qatar’s Al Jazeera television said on Sunday its bureau chief in Sudan has been detained.

The Doha-based network said on Twitter that security forces raided the home of El Musalmi El Kabbashi and detained him.

There was no immediate comment from Sudanese authorities.

The development comes a day after thousands of demonstrators took to the streets on Saturday to protest last month’s military takeover in Sudan. At least six protesters were killed.

Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the head of Sudan’s ruling military council, has issued a decree to form a new ruling transitional council, appointing himself its chairman.

He seized power on Oct. 25, dissolving the transitional government and detaining dozens of officials and politicians, including Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok who remains under house arrest.

Before the military takeover, Sudan was administered by a sovereign council, which was overseeing the transition period until elections in 2023 as part of a precarious civil-military power-sharing pact.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar in Ankara