ADDIS ABABA, March 9 (Xinhua) -- Chairperson of the African Union (AU) Commission Moussa Faki Mahamat on Monday condemned the failed assassination attempt on the Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok.
"The Chairperson of the African Union Commission Moussa Faki Mahamat condemns in the strongest terms the attack on the convoy of Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok that occurred in Khartoum today," an AU statement read.
On Monday morning, Sudan's Prime Minister Hamdok had survived a failed assassination attempt that was orchestrated in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, according to state-run TV. Eyewitnesses also indicated that Hamdok's motorcade came under a car bomb attack at the entry of the Sudanese army bridge in Khartoum.
The chairperson of the 55-member pan African bloc also urged "all stakeholders to maintain the unity of the transitional government and to preserve the extraordinary gains of the democratic Transition towards a new Sudan."
Mahamat also noted that the incident is a call for action among Sudanese stakeholders to exert concerted efforts to sustain recent gains in the African country.
The AU Commission Chairperson further stressed "the urgent need for all stakeholders, including international partners to provide immediate and concrete support to Sudan at this critical juncture of the transition, in order to rapidly consolidate the gains made since the transition began."
Various continental and regional leaders have been condemning the failed assassination attempt on the Sudanese premier as a sign of regional and continental solidarity to Sudan and Hamdok, who sworn in as Sudan's prime minister on Aug. 21 last year.
Hamdok is also currently serving as the rotating chairperson of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), an eight-member East African bloc since November 2019.
The Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and Executive Secretary of IGAD Workneh Gebeyehu are among the regional leaders who have condemned the failed assassination attempt.
Ethiopia's Ahmed in a statement soon after the incident said "I denounce the assassination attempt made on Sudan's Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok earlier today," adding that "the people of Sudan have paid a great price and taken admirable steps towards maintaining peace."
The Ethiopian premier further stressed that "such incidents need not derail the process and path begun in ensuring the stability of Sudan."
The Ethiopian Prime Minister's Office also reiterated the Ethiopian government's "solidarity with the people and government of the Republic of Sudan."
The IGAD chief Gebeyehu, who expressed his "relief that Prime Minister Hamdok was unharmed in this appalling incident," also called for an immediate and speedy investigation in order to bring the perpetrators of this crime to justice."
