Welcome to Africanews

Please select your experience

Watch Live

News

news

Sudan coup leader urges troops to back democratic transition

Chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and paramilitary commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo lift documents alongside civilian leaders following the signing of an initial deal aimed at endin   -  
Copyright © africanews
ASHRAF SHAZLY/AFP or licensors

Sudan

Sudan's military chief, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, reaffirmed that the army would be placed under the authority of a new civilian-led government as talks on military reforms began on Sunday as part of a lengthy transition to civilian rule.

According to Al-Burhan, the process of security and military reform is a long and complicated one that cannot be bypassed.

"This participation [of the armed forces in the political scene, ed], through which it was intended to use the armed forces to support political parties or to impose dictatorships and support totalitarian governments; We want to put an end to that. We want to build armed forces that respect the standards of democratic regimes" said Al-Burhan.

The army's Al-Burhan took power in a 2021 coup that scuttled a short-lived democratic transition after Al-Bashir was ousted in 2019.

The military and political parties signed an agreement in December to set up a civilian-led transitional government to oversee elections in two years. However, pro-democracy protest groups opposed the agreement, demanding the inclusion of transitional justice and security reforms.

Reform of the security forces is a major point of tension in the discussions on the political process launched in December, which calls for the withdrawal of generals from politics once a civilian government is in place.

The proposed reforms include the integration of the powerful paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), led by al-Burhan's deputy, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, better known as Hemeti, into the regular army.

The Sudanese army has a long tradition of military takeovers and has accumulated considerable economic assets. It wants the RSF, which by some estimates numbers up to 100,000 fighters, to be brought under its control.

View more