Tensions between civilians and military at head of Sudanese power

Three weeks after the failed attempt at coup, the general at the head of the transition calls for the dissolution of the government.

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The man is on all the waves. Daily or almost, it connects political speeches and appearances. No Costume Tie or TV Plateau, General Abdel Fattah Abdelrahman Al-Bourhane prefers to his lattice troops, flawless shaved skull, and pepper mustache and well cut. On Monday, October 11, the leader of the Sovereignty Council, the body responsible for overseeing the transition period in Sudan, again harangled a crowd of officers and soldiers gathered in Bahri, northern Khartoum. He demanded the dissolution of the government. A statement that goes against the agreement with the civil parties from the 2019 revolution, which gives the Prime Minister alone the task of training the government.

The political crisis concealed for months. It was precipitated by the attempted coup attempt by 21 September and fomented, according to the authorities, by the support of the fallen president, Omar Al-Bachir. “That the coup state or not, it has proved to be politically useful for the military and civilian components in power since 2019. Some people have arrived as providential men. The others were able to find the support of the Street after months of unpopularity “, Magdi Analysis El-Gizouli, researcher at the Rift Valley Institute.

Almost immediately after the state television of the Missed Putsch State, General Abdel Fattah Abdelrahman Al-Bourhane appeared triumphant in the barracks of the armored division from which part of the mutiny. He landed in “guardian” of the Sudanese revolution, ensuring that the army was the only one able to lead the country to the elections planned at first 2024. At his side, the vice-president, Mohammed Hamdan Daglo, aka “Hemetti”, commander of fast support forces – a powerful paramilitary militia – went even further, accusing “politicians” to be “the main cause of the coup for having neglected the basic citizens”. The two men announced that they would no longer sit alongside civilians in transition instances.

“Aggressive rhetoric”

They were quick to counter-attack. For the first time, the Prime Minister, Abdallah Hamdok, has publicly criticized the presence of Islamist officers in the ranks of a Sudanese army that General Al-Bourhane refuses to purge to maintain unity and cohesion of the institution. The head of the government reiterated its appeals to an integral redesign of the security forces as well as the resumption of the companies managed by the military under the supervision of its firm. In addition to its preponderant political role, the army retains, indeed, the control over many sides of the Sudanese economy (agriculture, telecommunications, mining resources). The defense sector alone accounts for 12% of the state budget.

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/Media reports.