Sudan 'will defeat coup attempts'

The head of Sudan's sovereign council has warned that any attempts to carry out a coup will be thwarted.

Lt Gen Abdel-Fattah al-Burhan made the remarks a day after soldiers from an intelligence unit linked to the former President, Omar al-Bashir, staged a mutiny.

He said all affected areas, including two oil fields, were now under the control of the military.

The soldiers caused widespread panic especially in the capital, Khartoum, where they fired heavy weapons in the air for several hours to complain about their severance pay.

In an interview on Sudanese state TV, Gen Burhan said 40 mutineers surrendered.

He also repeated the accusation that a former spy chief Salah Gosh was behind the unrest.