The Khartoum District Court has ordered the country’s three main telecommunication providers—Zain, MTN and Sudani—to restore internet services immediately, after more than two weeks of internet shutdown following a coup by military leaders, according to Reuters.

In the early hours of October 25, Sudan’s military dissolved the government and the Sovereign Council, a joint military and civilian body created after al-Bashir’s ouster. Senior officials were subsequently detained and Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok was placed under house arrest. The head of the military, General Abdel-Fattah Burhan, declared a country-wide state of emergency and announced that the military would appoint a technocratic government to run the country until elections are conducted in July 2023. He clarified that he will not be contesting in the said elections. While the military has now released several civilian leaders, the prime minister remains in detention.

Adam Rojal, a spokesman for the Coordinating Committee for Refugees and Displaced People, said that “[t]he lack of internet is allowing [the military] to commit so many violations without accountability. We used the internet to document and report and that would make them a little bit scared.” At least four people have been killed in more than 10 militia attacks across the country, with many more injured and sexually assaulted. 

Internet watchdog NetBlocks has estimated that the total economic cost of the internet shutdown could be around $732 million, much more than the $700 million US aid suspended soon after the coup.

There have been no signs of internet service restoration since Tuesday’s order.