Sudanese SAF junta detained Maj. Gen. Abdel-Baqi Bakrawi after reportedly thwarting a coup attempt inside the military, local outlet Rakoba News reported, citing family and military sources. A security unit allegedly took Bakrawi from his residence to an undisclosed location, a day after SAF chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan ordered Bakrawi and several officers linked to an earlier coup case into retirement as part of a wider shake-up.
Bakrawi previously faced charges over a 2021 coup attempt and stood trial with other officers before proceedings were halted when war erupted in April 2023. Some of those officers later fought alongside the SAF against the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), according to the same reports.
A military source quoted by local media said the arrest came amid rising tensions in SAF-held areas following a string of dismissals targeting officers believed to have ties to the dissolved National Congress Party (NCP). The source claimed a network sought to exploit anger over the retirements to fracture the military, but the move was disrupted in its late stages.
Bakrawi, a former deputy commander of the Armored Corps, is portrayed by local profiles as a longtime figure under ex-president Omar al-Bashir, holding multiple posts in the SAF and reputed links to the NCP. Local accounts also say he was reinstated to his post after a prior suspension.
Separately, military sources in Port Sudan told local media that Ahmed Mohamed Haroun—former acting head of the NCP—was detained amid fast-moving security measures in SAF-controlled areas. Haroun had issued an audio statement upon his April 23, 2025 release from prison, saying his movement would join what he called a “war of dignity.” Rights advocates accuse him of operating behind the scenes as Islamist influence within the SAF expanded.
None of the claims could be independently verified, and there has been no official statement from General al-Burhan’s army (SAF) on the reported coup attempt or the arrests.
