US 'deeply alarmed' at reports of military takeover in Sudan, calls for PM's release

The U.S. Embassy urged Americans to shelter in place and to avoid traveling to the embassy or international airports.

Cairo -- After initially being put under house arrest by military forces Monday, Sudan's acting Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok and his wife Muna Abdallah were "kidnapped" at dawn from their Khartoum residence, according to the prime minister's office.

The move happened after the military forces arrested several top civilian officials, including cabinet ministers. Soon after, Sudan's de facto leader Abdel Fattah al-Burhan declared a state of emergency and dissolved the ruling transitional sovereign council and the government on Monday. It led to a backlash from the opposition and the United States.

Opposition figures said bridges and roads were blocked and that the internet was cut off in Khartoum. Videos posted on social media showed a large number of protesters taking to the streets, setting tires on fire and chanting against the apparent coup.

"What happened today in Khartoum is an attempt to erode the democratic gains of our December 2018 revolution," Ismail El Taj, a leading member of the Sudanese Professionals Association, one of the main coalitions that rose up against the autocratic regime of Omar al-Bashir, told ABC News. "We will resist this coup with all peaceful means, such as peaceful marches, sit-ins and civil disobedience. The trembling hands that are trying to turn back the clock will not succeed."