Sudan switches on internet after court order

sudan protest coup

People protesting against the military coup in Sudan march in Umdurman on November 13, 2021.

Photo credit: AFP

Sudanese authorities on Thursday evening switched internet services back on, albeit partially.

The internet has been off for the last three weeks.

Telecom operators were authorised to turn on limited services, offering partial respite to locals who have been in the dark since October 25 when the military seized power and dissolved the transitional government of Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok.

The decision arose from a court decision which ordered internet firms to immediately restore services amid a state of emergency imposed by the military.

The court said the services should be restored immediately until the case challenging the blockade is heard and determined.

Activists have been protesting in the streets as they called for immediate restoration of Sudan’s civilian-led government. But security forces responded brutally on Wednesday leaving scores of protesters dead and other injured.   

The deaths were condemned by the US via Molly Phee, the US Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, who has just left the country after a two-day visit.

She met with coup leader Abdel Fattah al-Burhan as well as ousted Prime Minister Hamdok, who is still under house arrest.

Immediately after the coup, the military detained Hamdok and a number of cabinet ministers when it toppled the government, ostensibly because the transitional authority had fallen victim to wrangles, according to Burhan.