The military had been meant to pass on leadership of the Sovereign Council to a civilian figure in the coming months. The director of Hamdok's office, Adam Hereika, told Reuters the military had mounted the takeover despite "positive movements" towards an agreement after meetings with Feltman in recent days. Washington had tried to avert the collapse of the power-sharing agreement by sending a special envoy, Jeffrey Feltman. Helped by foreign aid, civilian officials have claimed credit for some tentative signs of stabilisation after a sharp devaluation of the currency and the lifting of fuel subsidies. In recent weeks a coalition of rebel groups and political parties aligned themselves with the military and called on it to dissolve the civilian government, while Cabinet ministers took part in protests against the prospect of military rule. The country had been on edge since last month when a failed coup plot, blamed on Bashir supporters, unleashed recriminations between the military and civilians. terrorism list under Bashir, who hosted Osama bin Laden in the 1990s and is wanted by the International Criminal Court in the Hague for war crimes. It had become a pariah to the West and was on a U.S. Sudan has been ruled for most of its post-colonial history by military leaders who seized power in coups. This is a military coup," said a young man who gave his name as Saleh.
In Khartoum's twin city Omdurman, protesters barricaded streets and chanted in support of civilian rule. A department spokesman said it was pausing $700 million in economic support for Sudan. State Department said Washington had nothing to share on Hamdok's whereabouts and condition. Also detained was the news director of state TV, his family said. Troops had arrested civilian members of the Sovereign Council and government figures, the ministry said. Central bank employees announced a strike to reject the coup, the ministry said. The ministry urged resistance and said tens of thousands of people opposed to the takeover had taken to the streets and had faced gunfire near the military headquarters in Khartoum. official, was detained and taken to an undisclosed location after refusing to issue a statement in support of the takeover, the information ministry said. Hamdok, an economist and former senior U.N. The main opposition coalition, Forces of Freedom and Change, which pushed for Bashir's removal and negotiated the military-civilian council, said on Twitter it was calling for peaceful actions in the streets to overthrow the military takeover, including demonstrations, the blocking of streets and civil disobedience. Youths opposed to the coup barricaded streets and clashed with troops. White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre said: "We reject the actions by the military and call for the immediate release of the prime minister and others who have been placed under house arrest." Security Council was likely to discuss Sudan behind closed doors on Tuesday, diplomats said. Hamdok is still the legitimate transitional authority, it said. The Sudan information ministry, which is still loyal to ousted Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok, said on its Facebook page that the transitional constitution gives only the prime minister the right to declare a state of emergency and that the military's actions are a crime. "What the country is going through now is a real threat and danger to the dreams of the youth and the hopes of the nation," he said.