A Sudanese court has ordered the country’s three main mobile operators to restore internet services, after access was cut off last month following a coup by military leaders, Reuters reports. A judge ordered Kuwaiti-owned Zain, MTN of South Africa and local provider Sudatel (Sudani) to restore internet services immediately, according to lawyer Abdelazim Hassan, who raised a complaint on behalf of the Sudanese Consumer Protection Society. In a tweet, the US Agency for International Development (USAID) called the blackout ‘a violation of international law’.
The coup, led by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, halted a power-sharing arrangement between the military and civilians. Top civilian politicians have been detained and Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok was placed under house arrest. Mediation efforts have stalled, and Burhan has said he is committed to appointing a technocratic cabinet until elections in July 2023.