Sudan restores partial internet service
Friday November 19 2021
People gather in "Street 60" in the east of capital Khartoum on November 13, 2021 to protest against the military coup in Sudan. PHOTO | AFP
Sudan on Thursday evening restored limited internet services three weeks after it switched off internet in the country.
Telecom operators were authorised to turn on limited services, offering a partial respite to locals who had been in the dark since October 25 when the military seized power and dissolved the transitional government of Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok.
The decision to restore internet arose from a court decision which ordered telecom firms to immediately restore internet, amid an ongoing state of emergency imposed by the military.
The courts said the services should be restored immediately until the case filed to challenge the blockade is heard and determined.
In the absence of the internet, activists have been using street protests to call for the immediate restoration of Sudan’s civilian-led government.
However, security forces responded brutally on Wednesday, leaving many protesters dead and other injured.
The incident received condemnation fro
Molly Phee, US Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, condemned the security officers' use of force against protesters.
Ms Phee had just left the country after a two-day visit where she met military leader Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok who is still under house arrest.
The military also detained a number of cabinet ministers when it toppled the government, ostensibly because the transitional authority had fallen victim to wrangles, according to Burhan.