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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
World
Rebecca Speare-Cole

Sudan's prime minister Abdalla Hamdok survives assassination attempt

Sudan's new Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok has escaped an assassination attempt (file photo) (Picture: AP)

Sudan's prime minister has survived an assassination attempt.

An explosion and gunfire targeted Abdalla Hamdok's motorcade in the capital of Khartoum.

Mr Hamdok, a longtime economist, tweeted he was "safe and in good shape" following the explosion.

Sudanese state TV said Mr Hamdok had been heading to his office when the attack took place.

Sudanese rescue teams and security forces gather next to damaged vehicles at the site of an assassination attempt against Sudan's Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok (AFP via Getty Images)

Mr Hamdok also tweeted a photo of himself smiling and seated at a large desk, while a TV behind him showed news coverage reporting he had survived.

It comes almost a year after pro-democracy protesters forced the military to remove autocratic President Omar al-Bashir from power.

He was replace with a joint military-civilian government, headed by Mr Hamdok, which has promised to hold elections in three years.

However, Sudan's generals remain the de facto rulers of the country and have shown little willingness to hand over power to civilians.

Mr Hamdok, in his brief statement on Twitter, said: "Rest assured that what happened today will not stand in the way of our transition, instead it is an additional push to the wheel of change in Sudan."

Security personnel stand near a car damaged after an explosion targeting the motorcade of Sudan's Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok (REUTERS)

No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.

A statement from the prime minister's office said the attackers used explosives and firearms and that a security officer was lightly wounded.

People shouting slogan gather near the scene of an explosion that targeted the motorcade of Sudan's Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok near the Kober Bridge in Khartoum (REUTERS)

The statement was read by Faisal Saleh, Sudan's information minister and interim government spokesman.

Footage posted online showed two white, Japanese-made SUVs vehicles typically used by Sudan's top officials parked on a street, damaged with its widows broken.

Sudanese rescue teams and security forces gather next to damaged vehicles at the site of an assassination attempt against Sudan's Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok (AFP via Getty Images)

Another vehicle was badly damaged in the blast.

Several dozen people were seen at the site of the attack, chanting: "With our blood and soul, we redeem you, Hamdok."

Sudanese policemen stand around vehicles that were part of Prime Mister Abdalla Hamdok's motorcade (AP)

The protest movement that led the uprising against al-Bashir called the blast a "terrorist attack."

The statement by the Forces for the Declaration of Freedom and Change called on people to take to the streets to "show our unity and cohesion ... and protect the transitional authority."

After months of negotiations, the military and the pro-democracy movement reached a power-sharing deal in August, at which point Mr Hamdouk took office.

The deal established a joint military-civilian, 11-member sovereign council to govern Sudan for the next three years.

Prominent activist Khalid Omar, secretary general of the Sudanese Congress Party, said the attempt on Mr Hamdouk's life was a "new chapter in the conspiracy against the Sudanese revolution."

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