Al Jazeera says Sudan bureau chief detained by security forces

News organization Al Jazeera said on Sunday that its Sudan bureau chief was detained by security forces amid ongoing protests against the nation’s military coup.

“On Sunday, November 14, The Sudanese authorities raided the home of Al Jazeera Khartoum bureau chief, El Musalmi El Kabbashi and arrested him,” Al Jazeera said in a statement. 

“Al Jazeera condemns in the strongest terms the reprehensible actions of the military and calls on the authorities to release El Kabbashi immediately and to its journalists to operate unhindered, free to practice their profession without fear or intimidation,” it added. 

The news organization also said it will hold the Sudanese military “responsible for the safety of all its employees.” 

Al Jazeera’s Sudan Bureau Chief, Musalmi El Kabbashi, has been arrested from his home and detained. #JournalismIsNotACrime pic.twitter.com/FJsLGKJ82Y

— Arwa Ibrahim (@arwaib) November 14, 2021

Thousands of pro-democracy demonstrators took to the Sudan’s streets on Saturday to protest the coup, according to The Associated Press.

Sudan’s military seized power of the country last month, dissolving the country’s transitional government and placing dozens of politicians and officials under arrest. 

The coup came more than two years after the military removed Sudan’s former president Omar al-Bashir and his government.

Saturday’s rallies occurred two days after coup leader Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan reappointed himself as head of Sudan’s governing body, the AP noted. 

The military coup has drawn international condemnation. President Biden said in late October that the global community was speaking with a united voice. 

“Together, our message to Sudan’s military authorities is overwhelming and clear: the Sudanese people must be allowed to protest peacefully and the civilian-led transitional government must be restored,” he said in a statement.