World Bank gives Kenya Sh16b to support climate change action

Brian Oruta, NAIROBI Kenya

Kenya is set to receive Sh16 billion from the World Bank, to support National Climate Change Action Plan.

The World Bank Board of Directors approved the funding to strengthen local resilience.

This was done through Financing Locally-led Climate Action programme.

Speaking during the approval of the agreement, Treasury CS Secretary Ukur Yatani said climate change remains the biggest challenge.

He said Kenya's climate sensitive economy is prone to drought and floods, and this affects about 2.8 per cent of the GDP annually.

"As a nation, we remain cognisant of the challenges that lie ahead but remain confident that with the support of the World Bank and other development partners." he said.

"We will build our national and counties' capacities to manage climate risk and enhance our resilience with home grown solutions in a collaborative and progressive approach, between the two levels of government, but more importantly owned and driven by local communities."

The financing agreement is between Kenya, the World Bank, the Government of Sweden (Sida) and the Government of Denmark (Danida), as well as other development partners.

The FLLoCA programme will be led by the Treasury and implemented over a period of five years.

The programme will help equip communities  with required resources to predict, prepare and respond to climatic shocks.

On Tuesday, President Uhuru Kenyatta cautioned that in the absence of urgent climate change adaptation action, Africa's Gross Domestic Product risks contracting by up to 30 percent by the year 2050.

In a video address at a hybrid conference hosted by the University of Nairobi in partnership with the Global Centre on Adaptation, Uhuru called on the global community to support the accelerated roll out of adaptation programmes in Africa, to mitigate against the growing adverse effects of climate change and strengthen the continent's resilience.

"Evidence indicates that climate change will have a devastating socioeconomic impact across the world and quite severely in Africa. If we do not take any action Africa could, as a consequence, see its GDP contract by up to 30 percent by 2050 due to climate change," he said. 

Sudan Prime Minister released as protesters face tear gas

KHARTOUM, Sudan

Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok was brought home late Tuesday, his office said, after a day of intense international pressure following his removal in a military coup.

Hamdok was "under close surveillance" while other ministers and civilian leaders remained under arrest, his office added, after the army dissolved Sudan's institutions on Monday.

Earlier in the day, the United States had said it would suspend aid over the coup and the EU had threatened to do the same.

Meanwhile UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres demanded Hamdok "be released immediately" ahead of an emergency Security Council meeting that began at 2000 GMT.

The talks among the top UN powers could produce a joint text condemning the putsch later Tuesday or on Wednesday, a diplomat speaking on condition of anonymity said.

Before the meeting, Dmitry Polyanskiy, Russia's deputy ambassador to the UN, said the council "should appeal to stop the violence from all sides."

The coup comes just over two years into a delicate power-sharing arrangement between the military and civilians after the army's ousting during enormous street protests in April 2019 of longtime autocrat Omar al-Bashir.

Top General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan had earlier vouched for Hamdok's "good health", while a military source who requested anonymity said Hamdok had been escorted home, with "security measures" erected "around the perimeter".

Angry citizens stood their ground on barricaded streets where tyres burned, chanting "No to military rule", the day after four people were shot dead by security forces, according to a doctors' group.  

And violence against protesters mounted. 

"Frenzied putschist forces are attacking protest gatherings in separate parts nationwide," said the Sudanese Professionals Association, an umbrella of unions which were instrumental in the late 2018-2019 anti-Bashir protests.

It said the "vengeful" attacks followed Hamdok's release. 

Witnesses in the east Khartoum district of Burri said security forces fired tear gas at protesters blocking a main road in opposition to the coup.

Internationally, Burhan's declaration of a state of emergency and dissolution of government provoked an immediate backlash.

Washington, a key backer of the transition, strongly condemned the military's actions and suspended hundreds of millions of dollars in aid, before the European Union late Tuesday threatened "serious consequences" for Sudan's rulers, including suspension of financial support. 

Sudan risks "going back into a period of being shunned by the rest of the world" and losing badly needed financial aid, said Alex de Waal, a veteran expert on Sudan who is executive director of the World Peace Foundation.

Hamdok's government earlier this year unlocked international financial assistance, after it was frozen for years under Bashir.

On Tuesday the country was already physically cut off. The aviation authority said all flights have been suspended until October 30.

Sudan's ambassadors to Belgium, France and Switzerland on Tuesday made clear their allegiance to the civilian leaders, declaring their diplomatic missions as "embassies of the Sudanese people and their revolution", according to the Information Ministry.

Shops around the capital were shuttered following calls for a campaign of civil disobedience.

"We will only leave when the civilian government is restored," said 32-year-old demonstrator Hisham al-Amin.

It was the latest coup in one of the world's most underdeveloped countries, which has experienced only rare democratic interludes since independence in 1956.

Analysts said the generals are trying to maintain their historic control.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke with Hamdok Tuesday, the State Department said, welcoming the prime minister's release from custody but expressing "deep concern" about the takeover and reiterating US support for a civilian-led democracy.

Blinken called for the military to release all civilian leaders and to use restraint in dealing with protesters, State Department spokesman Ned Price said in a statement.

A troika of countries previously involved in mediating Sudanese conflicts -- the US, UK and Norway -- said "the actions of the military represent a betrayal of the revolution".

The African Union and Arab League also expressed concern.

Bashir, who ruled Sudan with an iron fist for three decades, is in jail in Khartoum following a corruption conviction.

He is wanted by the International Criminal Court on charges of genocide over the civil war in Darfur.

The 2019 power-sharing deal after his fall saw Sudan ruled by a Sovereign Council of civilian and military representatives tasked with overseeing a transition to a full civilian government.

In recent weeks, the cracks in the leadership had grown wide. The civilian movement that spearheaded demonstrations against Bashir split in two and the splinter group sided with the military.

Tensions had long simmered within that movement, known as the Forces for Freedom and Change, but divisions ratcheted up after what the government said was a failed coup on September 21 this year.

Burhan had dismissed as "slander" suggestions that the army was involved in that manoeuvre.

Analysts have expressed concern that resistance to the coup could be brutally repressed. - AFP

Mass burial to relieve overflowing Papua New Guinea morgue as Covid cases surge

PORT MORESBY, Papua New Guinea

Papua New Guinea authorities have approved a mass burial to take pressure off Port Moresby’s hospital morgue where bodies are stacked on top of each other as Covid-19 cases surge.

The burial of more than 200 bodies comes as health teams around the country report being attacked as they took part in vaccination programs.

National Pandemic Response Controller David Manning has authorised the burial of 200 bodies out of more than 300 at the morgue which was built to cater for only 60, The National newspaper reports.

National Capital District Governor Powes Parkop said refrigerated containers had been installed to store more bodies and a mass burial was planned for this week.

The PNG capital is bracing for a possible lockdown this week to try to reduce coronavirus cases and deaths in a city where 99% of Covid cases admitted to the general hospital are unvaccinated.

National health board deputy chair Mathias Sapuri said a two-week lockdown across PNG was the only way to control the Covid-19 surge.

“The virus stops moving when people stop moving,” he said.

Governor Parkop earlier this month said he would oppose any further lockdowns in Port Moresby because of the costs of previous ones but the latest surge in cases appears to have changed his mind.

“If the doctors tell me that we have to lock down because they cannot cope any more, then I will follow their advice,” he told The National.

Other regions in PNG have already imposed lockdowns and curfews in a bid to curb the spread of coronavirus.

PNG has officially confirmed 26,731 coronavirus cases and 329 deaths but it is believed many more cases and deaths are going unreported in the nation of nine million where vaccination hesitancy is reported to be high.

Vaccine hesitancy has been a major issue and cause for concern in PNG, where less than 1% of the population has been fully vaccinated.

Last week, in the second largest city, Lae, community health workers were harassed and threatened at the centre of town during a mobile awareness and vaccination drive in the city centre.

The incident on 18 October was caught on camera, showing bystanders throwing rocks and shouting at health workers.

“The situation was so tense. The public started throwing stones and running towards the vaccination team with sticks, iron rods, and stones,” said Emmanuel Saem Jr who witnessed the scene.

“The crowd shouted at the health care workers, saying: ‘Karim 666 chip goh!’ (Take the 666 chip away) or ‘Karim microchip goh!’ (Take the microchip away).”

No injuries were reported from the incident and police were called in to disperse the tense crowd, but witnesses say that people who wanted the vaccine were intimidated by some of the mob.

After the incident, the mobile vaccination awareness drive was abandoned. Vaccinations are now only offered at the country’s second largest referral hospital, Angau General Hospital, and at smaller suburban clinics.

The Morobe Provincial Health Authority did not respond to request for comment, however health workers in the province stated that people don’t seem to take the virus seriously.

“People are not observing the new normal. People are just too complacent or just don’t believe Covid-19 is real,” said Dr Alex Peawi, head of Angau Hospital’s Emergency Hospital.

On Friday, a health team reportedly administering childhood vaccinations for polio in Lae were attacked by someone who believed they were giving out Covid-19 vaccinations, according to the Post Courier.

Health experts in Morobe fear that the number of Covid-19 cases will continue to rise because of the province’s proximity to the Eastern Highlands Province, currently a Covid hotspot.

Eastern Highlands, Western Highlands and Enga are experiencing a surge in the number of Delta variant cases. Hospitals in all three provinces are experiencing a shortage of supplies and manpower and are scaling down services to deal with the outbreak.

Guinea coup leader picks Mandela prize-winner as foreign minister

CONAKRY, Guinea

Guinea’s military leader Colonel Mamady Doumbouya has appointed a prominent campaigner against female genital mutilation (FGM) as foreign minister, in his latest change since taking power last month.

The West African state’s new diplomatic chief is Morissanda Kouyate, who last year won the United Nation’s Nelson Mandela Prize, according to a decree read on state television late Monday.

Doumbouya also appointed Julien Youmbouno as minister of labour and Mamadou Pathe Diallo as health minister, while Charlotte Daffe was named fisheries minister.

Kouyate, a doctor by training, set up an NGO in 1984 called the Inter-African Committee on Traditional Practices Affecting the Health of Women and Children, which campaigns against FGM and for gender equality.

He was one of two laureates in 2020 for the Nelson Mandela Prize, awarded every five years to recognise work in the service of humanity.

A former special forces commander, Doumbouya, 37, launched a coup on 5 September, ousting 83-year-old elected president Alpha Conde after months of brewing discontent against his government.

Defying broad condemnation of the putsch, Doumbouya was sworn in as interim president on 1 October.

Doumbouya has promised to restore civilian rule after a transition period of unspecified length, and to unite the politically fractious nation of 13 million people.

He has purged 44 generals and admirals, including a former army chief of staff and the senior commander of the gendarmerie, a police force under the control of the military.

Doumbouya has appointed Mohamed Beavogui, a relative unknown with a background in international development, as interim premier.

Two fellow soldiers have been appointed ministers of state for defence and for civil protection, while a civilian has been named minister of the environment and sustainable development.

U.S. imposes new international travel vaccine rules, lifts existing restrictions

WASHINGTON, USA

U.S. President Joe Biden on Monday signed an order imposing new vaccine requirements for most foreign national air travelers and lifting severe travel restrictions on China, India and much of Europe effective November 8, the White House said.

The U.S. travel restrictions were first imposed in early 2020 to address the spread of COVID-19. The rules bar most non-U.S. citizens who within the last 14 days have been in Britain, the 26 Schengen countries in Europe without border controls, Ireland, China, India, South Africa, Iran and Brazil.

"It is in the interests of the United States to move away from the country-by-country restrictions previously applied during the COVID-19 pandemic and to adopt an air travel policy that relies primarily on vaccination to advance the safe resumption of international air travel to the United States,” Biden’s proclamation says.

The White House confirmed that children under 18 are exempt from the new vaccine requirements as are people with some medical issues. Non-tourist travelers from nearly 50 countries with nationwide vaccination rates of less than 10% will also be eligible for exemption from the rules. 

Those receiving an exemption will generally need to be vaccinated within 60 days after arriving in the United States.

Those countries include Nigeria, Egypt, Algeria, Armenia, Myanmar, Iraq, Nicaragua, Senegal, Uganda, Libya, Ethiopia, Zambia, Congo, Kenya, Yemen, Haiti, Chad and Madagascar.

The White House first disclosed on September 20 it would remove restrictions in early November for fully vaccinated air travelers from 33 countries.

"Families and friends can see each other again, tourists can visit our amazing landmarks. This policy will further boost economic recovery,” State Department spokesman Ned Price said.

The Biden administration also detailed requirements airlines must follow to confirm foreign travelers have been vaccinated before boarding U.S.-bound flights.

Gunmen kill 16 worshippers in Nigeria mosque attack

LAGOS, Nigeria

Gunmen killed 16 worshippers at a mosque in central Nigeria, a government official said Tuesday, in the latest violence in the restive region.

Scores of gunmen on motorcycles stormed Maza-Kuka village in Mashegu district of Niger state on Monday and opened fire during morning prayers, said Ahmed Ibrahim Matane, the secretary to the government.

"The bandits shot dead 16 people inside the mosque while they were praying,” Matane said.

Three worshippers were injured in the attack, one of them critically, he added.

Matane said one other person was killed in nearby Kaboji village as the gunmen fled the area.

“We are still investigating the motive of the attack and we have despatched military and police personnel to the area,” he said.

A police spokesman confirmed the attack but did not provide details.

Gangs of cattle thieves and kidnappers for ransom known locally as bandits have been terrorizing communities in northwest and central Nigeria where they raid villages, killing and burning homes after looting them.

Although they are driven by financial motives, the gangs have been infiltrated by jihadists waging more than a decade-old insurgency in the northeast.

Residents in several communities in Niger state have lately reported an influx of fighters from the northeast who have been taking over remote villages.

The gangs have increasingly been abducting students and schoolchildren to extort ransom from parents and authorities.

More than 1,000 students have been kidnapped since December, but most have been released after negotiations with their captors.

Thrilling encounters in the TotalEnergies CAF Confederation Cup Draw

CAIRO, Egypt

The draw for the 2021/22 TotalEnergies CAF Confederation Cup Additional Second Preliminary Round took place at CAF Headquarters in Cairo, Egypt on Tuesday 26 October 2021 and produced a group of thrilling encounters.

The 2021/22 TotalEnergies CAF Confederation Cup Additional Second Preliminary Round gathers the 16 teams qualified from TotalEnergies CAF Confederation Cup Second Preliminary Round, facing the losing 16 teams from the TotalEnergies CAF Champions League Second Preliminary Round.

Head of CAF Competitions Khaled Nassar will conduct the draw, assisted by Egypt and Zamalek legend Ismail Youssef.

Here are the matches (First Leg 28 November - Second Leg: 5 December 2021):

Zanaco (Zambia) – Binga (Mali)

Simba (Tanzania) – Red Arrows (Zambia)

TP MAzembe (DR Congo) – Marumo Gallants (South Africa)

ASEC Mimosas (Cote d’Ivoire) – GD Interclube (Angola)

Nouadhibou (Mauritania) – Coton Sport (Cameroon)

US Gendarmerie Nationale (Niger) – DC Motema Pembe (DR Congo)

AS Otoho (Congo) – Gor Mahia (Kenya)

APR (Rwanda) – RS Berkane (Morocco)

Tusker (Kenya) – CS Sfaxien (Tunisia)

Hearts if Oak (Ghana) – JS Saoura (Algeria)

Rivers United (Nigeria) – Al Masry (Egypt)

Stade Malien (Mali) – Ahly Tripoli (Libya) OR Biashara United (Tanzania)

Al Ittihad (Libya) – Enyimba (Nigeria)

AS Maniema Union (DR Congo) – Pyramids (Egypt)

LPRC Oilers (Liberia) – Orlando Pirates (South Africa)

Royal Leopards (Eswatini) – JS Kabylie (Algeria)

Jwaneng Galaxy's shock defeat left Tanzania's Simba 'vibrating'

Osoro Nyawangah, MWANZA Tanzania

The Tanzania football champions, Simba Sports Club elimination from the Caf Champions League after suffering a 3-1 defeat in the hands of Jwaneng Galaxy in a return leg battle at Benjamin Mkapa Stadium in Dar es Salaam on Sunday, left the Kings vibrating.

Didier Gomes da Rosa

The shock defeat that the country’s ‘four-times’ consecutive champions suffered at home to exit the competition in which they reached quarter-finals last season; did not leave it stable following witch-hunt that left its Head Coach and other technical bench members terminated with immediate effect.

The Head Coach, Didier Gomes da Rosa (52), has resigned today Tuesday October 26, paving way for Assistant Coach, Thierry Hitimana to take over the position as Acting Head Coach.

The Frenchman joined the Club on the 24th of January, 2021 helping the club to clinch the 2020/21 championship, was recently named the Best Coach by the Tanzania Football Federation.

The veteran coach was appointed to fill the space that was left by Sven Vandenbroeck, who resigned a day after leading the club to the group stage of the Caf Champions League.

According to press release circulated today by the club through its social media, the two parties reached mutual agreement on terms of their separation after in-depth discussion.

“After in-depth discussion, both parties have mutually agreed on the terms of the separations.” Said the statement adding that the club has also made minor changes to the technical bench by amicably separating with the goalkeeping coach, Milton Nienev and the fitness coach, Adel Zrane.

Simba headed into the match with the advantage since they had won the first leg 2-0 in Botswana, but they could not make it count as they threw away a first-half lead for a 3-3 final score line to bow out on the away goal rule.

It was Simba who scored first when Larry Bwalya drilled home from close range in the 41st minute and they continued to search for more goals but Jwaneng Galaxy remained tight at the back to keep it at 1-0 at half-time.

However, in the second half, the game turned in favour of the visitors and they drew level on the night in the 46th minute when Wendel Rudath evaded Simba defenders to beat goalkeeper Aishi Manula with a low effort.

In the 60th minute, Rudath completed his double with a fine finish from a well-delivered corner before Gape Mohutsiwa put the nail into Simba’s coffin with the third goal in the 86th minute.

Last season, Simba reached the quarter-finals of the competition but they were eliminated by Kaizer Chiefs of South Africa on a 4-3 aggregate win.

Chiefs won the first-round meeting 4-0 at FNB Stadium in Johannesburg but a spirited fight by Simba to overturn the result at Mkapa Stadium could not bore the fruits as they only managed to win 3-0.

Seven decapitated bodies found in Cabo Delgado, Mozambique

CABO DELGADO, Mozambique

The population of Mucojo, a coastal district of Cabo Delgado, northern Mozambique, found the decapitated bodies of seven people, including a 3-year-old child, between Thursday and Saturday last week, a local security source told Lusa.

According to information from residents, the first two victims were beheaded in the village of Lumumua, where they were looking for water, another two were killed in Pankoma and the remaining three victims, including a child, were killed in the village of Nagulue, 10 kilometres from the headquarters of the administrative post of Mucojo.

All are suspected to have been victims of rebels, members of the armed insurgency in the region, which since July has been losing ground to military forces.

Some militiamen who are in the area went to the places and reported that the bodies found in Nagule were already very decomposed.

Cabo Delgado province is rich in natural gas but has been terrorized since 2017 by armed rebels, with some attacks claimed by the extremist group Islamic State.

The conflict has led to more than 3,100 deaths, according to the ACLED conflict registration project, and more than 817,000 displaced people, according to Mozambican authorities.

Since July, an offensive by government troops with support from Rwanda which was later joined by the Southern African Development Community (SADC) allowed for increased security, recovering several areas where there was rebel presence, including the town of Mocímboa da Praia, which had been occupied since August 2020. - Lusa

Mali expels envoy of West Africa’s 15-nation regional bloc

BAMAKO, Mali

Mali’s transitional government has ordered an envoy of the 15-nation West African regional bloc to leave the country within 72 hours because of actions “incompatible with his status.”

The Economic Community of West African States, known as ECOWAS, is pressing Mali’s transitional leader Col. Assimi Goita, who seized power in a coup in August 2020, to respect his pledge to hold presidential and legislative elections in February 2022.

The group threatens sanctions against Mali if elections are not held by that date.

Goita’s government on Monday declared the ECOWAS special representative, Hamidou Boly, “persona non grata” and ordered him to leave the country, according to a statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The statement said that while Boly has been ordered to leave Mali, the government is still open to dialogue with ECOWAS, which has condemned the 2020 coup and is encouraging the country to return to democratic, civilian rule.

Mali’s government has not clearly explained the reasons for its decision against Boly, which comes a day after the United Nations Security Council mission visited Mali and also pressed for February 2022 elections.

In recent months, Malian Prime Minister Choguel Maiga has said before the government can plan the elections, it is necessary to hold a national conference in December in which various civil and political groups can agree on a date for elections.

Sudan army kills three anti-coup protesters,

KHARTOUM, Sudan

The Central Committee of Sudanese Doctors has said that three people died of gunshot wounds while at least 80 others were injured after being shot by military forces during protests against a military takeover on Monday.

Thousands of protesters poured into the streets of the capital, Khartoum, and its twin city of Omdurman following the early morning arrests of Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok and other senior officials by security forces in the country.

Hamdok was moved to an undisclosed location after he refused to issue a statement in support of the coup, said the information ministry.

The chairman of Sudan’s ruling body General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan later announced the dissolution of the transitional government and the sovereign council and declared a nationwide state of emergency.S

Sudan has been on edge since a failed coup plot last month unleashed bitter recriminations between military and civilian groups meant to be sharing power following the toppling of the country’s longtime leader Omar al-Bashir two years ago.

Thhe coup also comes just weeks before the military was supposed to hand the leadership of the council that runs the country over to civilians.

CAF Confederation Cup Additional Second Preliminary Round Draw Tuesday

CAIRO, Egypt 

The draw for the 2021/22 TotalEnergies CAF Confederation Cup Additional second Preliminary Round will be conducted at CAF Headquarters in Cairo, Egypt on Tuesday 26 October 2021 at 11:00 GMT (13:00 Cairo Local Time).

The 2021/22 TotalEnergies CAF Confederation Cup Additional second Preliminary Round will see the 16 teams qualified from TotalEnergies CAF Confederation Cup second Preliminary Round, facing the losing 16 teams from the TotalEnergies CAF Champions League second Preliminary Round.

The draw will be live on CAF digital platforms.

Head of CAF Competitions Khaled Nassar will conduct the draw, assisted by Egypt and Zamalek legend Ismail Youssef.

The qualified teams are:

RS Berkane (Morocco), JS Kabylie (Ageria), Enyimba (Nigeria), CS Sfaxien (Tunisia), JS Saoura (Algeria), Pyramids (Egypt), Al Masry (Egypt), Gor Mahia (Kenya), Marumo Gallants (South Africa), Coton Sport (Cameroon), Orlando Pirates (South Africa) , Red Arrows (Zambia) and DC Motema Pembe (DR Congo).

Others are Binga FC (Mali), GD Interclube (Angola), Tusker (Kenya), Hearts of Oak (Ghana), Stade Malien (Mali), LPRC Oilers (Liberia), US Gendarmerie Nationale (Niger), Al Ittihad (Libya), APR FC (Rwanda), AS Maniema Union (DR Congo). 

The list also includes TP Mazembe (DR Congo), Simba SC (Tanzania), Rivers United (Nigeria), ASEC Mimosas (Cote d’Ivoire), AS Otoho (Congo), FC Nouadhibou (Mauritania), Royal Leopards (Eswatini), Zanaco (Zambia).

The last team will be decided from Al Ahli Tripoli (Libya) / Biashara United (Tanzania).

IS claims responsibility for bomb attack in Uganda

KAMPALA, Uganda

Islamic state claimed responsibility for a bomb attack that killed at least one person in Uganda’s capital Kampala on Saturday night, the militant group said in a statement posted in an affiliated Telegram channel late on Sunday.

The group said that some of its members detonated an explosive device in a bar where “members and spies of the Crusader Ugandan government were gathering” in Kampala.

The bomb, packed with nails and shrapnel, targeted a pork restaurant on the outskirts of the capital, police said on Sunday.

Information gathered indicated that three men, disguised as customers, visited the restaurant, placed a polythene bag under a table and left moments before the explosion, police said.

The explosion killed a 20-year-old waitress and injured three people, two of whom were in critical condition, police said, adding all indications suggest an act of domestic terror.

President Yoweri Museveni said the attack “seems to be a terrorist act”.

In 2010, the Somali Islamist militant group al Shabaab killed dozens of people in Kampala in a bomb attack, saying it was punishing Uganda for deploying troops in Somalia.

Sudan's military dissolves civilian government

KHARTOUM, Sudan

Sudan's military has dissolved civilian rule, arrested political leaders and declared a state of emergency.

Demonstrators block roads in the capital, Khartoum, in protest at the arrests

Gen Abdel Fattah Burhan, who had been heading a joint council with civilian leaders, blamed political infighting.

Protesters have taken to the streets of the capital, Khartoum, and there are reports of gunfire.

Military and civilian leaders have been at odds since long-time ruler Omar al-Bashir was overthrown two years ago and a transitional government set up.

Although the country remains in a deep economic crisis, there had been more international support - and a military takeover will put that hugely at risk.

Video footage from the north African nation's capital on Monday showed protesters manning lit barricades and entering the area near the military's headquarters.

One demonstrator, Haitham Mohamed, told Agence France-Presse: "We are ready to give our lives for the democratic transition in Sudan."

Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok is among those reported to have been put under house arrest, along with members of his cabinet and other civilian leaders.

A statement from the information ministry on Facebook said those arrested were being held in "an unidentified location".

It also said Mr Hamdok was being pressed to support a coup but was refusing to do so and he urged people to continue with peaceful protests to "defend the revolution".

Gen Burhan has been heading the Sovereign Council, part of a power-sharing arrangement between military and civilian leaders.

In a televised address, he said infighting between politicians, ambition and incitement to violence had forced him to act to protect the safety of the nation and to "rectify the revolution's course".

He said Sudan was still committed to "international accords" and the transition to civilian rule, with elections planned for July 2023.

Demonstrator Sawsan Bashir told AFP: "We will not leave the streets until the civilian government is back and the transition is back."

Witnesses say the internet is down and that army and paramilitary troops have been deployed across the city. Khartoum airport is closed, and international flights are suspended.

There has been international condemnation of the military's move.

The UK's special envoy for Sudan and South Sudan, Robert Fairweather, tweeted: that military arrests of civilian leaders was "a betrayal of the revolution, the transition and the Sudanese people".

The US, UN, EU and Arab League have also expressed deep concern.

Recent weeks have seen a rapid build-up of tension in Khartoum. A hostile takeover of power is what many in Sudan and beyond have feared could happen anytime. The signs have been all too clear.

A pro-military sit-in right in front of the presidential palace in Khartoum was seen as choreographed to lead to a coup. No attempt was made to disguise its purpose. The protesters demanded that the military overthrow "failed" civilian leaders.

It was an unusual attempt at legitimising a military takeover, using the guise of a popular protest.

Nearly a week later, a counter-protest was held. This time, huge crowds came out in support of the civilian government.

With more protests called by pro-democracy groups to "counter a military coup", Sudan could be set for yet another period of showdown between the armed forces and the people.

The country has made huge strides in normalising ties with the West and unlocking much-needed funding streams. The promise of transition to democracy has kept many Sudanese and the country's allies hopeful. But all that could be at risk now.

The military and civilian transitional authorities have ruled together since President Bashir was toppled after months of street protests in 2019.

The power-sharing deal between the military and a loose coalition of groups - the Forces for Freedom and Change (FFC) - saw the launch of the Sovereign Council.

It was scheduled to rule the country for another year - with the aim of holding elections and transitioning to civilian rule.

But the deal was always fractious, with a large number of rival political groups - and divisions within the military too.