Cairo: Sudanese security forces detained three prominent pro-democracy figures, according to their relatives and other activists on Wednesday, as internal and international pressure mounted on the country’s military to walk back its coup.

The overnight arrests came as protests denouncing Monday’s takeover continued in the capital of Khartoum and elsewhere, and many businesses shut in response to calls for strikes. The African Union also suspended Sudan’s participation in all activities until the restoration of the civilian-led authority, it said in a communique dated on Tuesday.

People burn tires during a protest a day after the military seized power Khartoum, Sudan.Credit:AP

Security forces kept up their heavy-handed response, chasing demonstrators in several neighbourhoods late on Tuesday, according to activists who said some were shot and wounded. At least six people have been killed in protests so far, according to doctors.

And the country’s deposed prime minister, Abdalla Hamdok, a former UN economist, and his wife have returned home after the military detained them and dissolved the government, upending the country’s transition to civilian rule.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said separately that he spoke with Hamdok after he returned to his residence late on Tuesday about “the need to return to civilian leadership”.

But numerous others remained in detention in unknown locations, according to Hamdok’s office, and more have been detained.

The coup threatens to halt Sudan’s fitful transition to democracy, which began after the 2019 ouster of long-time ruler Omar al-Bashir and his Islamist government in a popular uprising. It came after weeks of mounting tensions between military and civilian leaders over the course and pace of that process.

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said the military’s takeover was a “catastrophic development,” warning that it would have “severe consequences” for Sudan’s recent efforts to reintegrate into the international community after nearly three decades of isolation under al-Bashir.

Sudan’s Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok, pictured, was arrested in the military coup.Credit:AP

Several Western embassies in Khartoum said on Wednesday they would continue to recognise Hamdok and his cabinet as “the constitutional leaders of the transitional government” of Sudan.

In a joint statement, the embassies of the European Union, the US, the UK, France and several other European countries called for the release of other detained officials and for talks between the military and the pro-democracy movement.

The new strongman, General Abdel-Fattah Burhan, has pledged to hold elections, as planned, in July 2023, and to appoint a technocrat government in the meantime.

But critics doubt the military is serious about eventually ceding control, noting that the coup came just weeks before Burhan was supposed to hand over the leadership of the top ruling body, the Sovereign Council, to a civilian. The council is made up of both civilian and military leaders but led by a general. Separately, Hamdok’s transitional government ran day-to-day affairs.

Sudan’s head of the military, General Abdel-Fattah Burhan.Credit:AP

The activists taken overnight were Ismail al-Taj, a leader of the Sudanese Professionals’ Association, the group at the forefront of the protests that brought down al-Bashir; Sediq al-Sadiq al-Mahdi, a leader in Sudan’s largest political party, known as Umma and brother of Foreign Minister Mariam al-Mahdi; and Khalid al-Silaik, a former media adviser to the prime minister.

The three have been outspoken critics of the military takeover — and have called for protests against the move. Already, tens of thousands of Sudanese have taken to the streets, and activists are planning a mass demonstration on Saturday.

Security forces confronting protesters have killed at least six people since Monday and wounded more than 140 others, many in critical condition, according to physicians with the Sudan Doctors’ Committee.

Al-Silaik was detained moments after he gave an interview to broadcaster Al-Jazeera, according to his wife, Marwa Kamel. In the interview, he criticised the military’s takeover, calling Hamdok and his government the legitimate administration of Sudan.

Activists Nazim Siraj and Nazik Awad and the Umma party confirmed the arrests of the other two figures.

AP with Washington Post, Reuters

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