Sudanese authorities on Wednesday said they had arrested 42 people for possessing a large amount of explosive materials, including a compound used in the assassination attempt of Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok and ammonium nitrate which caused the explosion at Beirut Port last month.
Hamdok survived an assassination attempt targeting his convoy in March as he headed to work in the capital Khartoum.
"Forty-two people were arrested in possession of explosives, enough to destroy (the capital) Khartoum," said public prosecutor Tagelsir al-Hebr in a press conference, adding that his office had opened an investigation.
Rapid Support Forces under the supervision of the public prosecutor’s office set 12 ambushes and seized the explosive materials in addition to the arrest of 42 suspects, all of them Sudanese nationals, in different areas of Khartoum, he said.
The materials included TNT, ammonium nitrate and explosive capsules, he added.
Intelligence gathered since August on "the movements of terrorist groups" led to the arrests, according to Jamal Jumaa, spokesman for the Rapid Support Forces.
"We fear now that some Sudanese people will resort to carrying out sabotage and bombings," he said.
"This is a threat to Sudanese national security."
During the press conference, Jumaa warned that the transfer of explosive materials to neighboring countries could lead to regional and international problems.
Some of the seized explosives were used in Hamdok’s attempted murder, he said.
Several members of the networks that import the explosive materials have escaped from Khartoum, he said, adding that they would be pursued by security forces.
