, Over 40 retired officers, including several former generals, have written to military leader General Abdel Fattah al Burhan warning that his position is weakening in the face of mass protests against the junta. The retired officers, all drawn from the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) and not any of the militias financed under the ousted National Congress Party regime, criticises Burhan saying that his close alliance with Gen Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo Hemeti , Commander of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), the rebranded Janjaweed militia, is undermining the cohesion of the armed forces as popular opposition is growing.
As they try to dominate the mooted transition, the ruling generals want to avoid prosecution for attacks on civilians, General Abdel Fattah al Burhan, the army chief and leader of a 25 October coup, is keen to keep the immunity from prosecution conferred on him as the country s de facto chief of state.
The prime minister has been restored to power under a deal that looks dangerous for democracy, The ceremony restoring Abdalla Hamdok to the premiership on 21 November had none of the celebratory atmosphere of the occasion in August 2019 when he was first appointed to lead the transition to civilian rule. This time, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo Hemeti , commander of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), was present. But Fadlallah Burma Nasir, the leader of the National Umma Party (NUP) who helped get Hamdok appointed two years ago, was not. This spoke volumes about the political reconfiguration that had just taken place and explained Hamdok s tense expression.
A multiplicity of mediators is trying to broker a new deal between civilians and army factions, A week after General Abdel Fattah al Burhan s coup and bid to disband the transitional government, military and civilian rivals are locked in negotiations in the face of mounting national and international opposition to the takeover. Abdalla Hamdok, the prime minister sacked by Burhan and put under house arrest, is central to efforts to revive the transition by envoys from the African Union, the UN and the United States.
Worried about losing political and economic power as well as facing prosecution for mass killings, military officers scupper the transition, Army officers led by General Abdel Fattah al Burhan overthrew the transitional government on 25 October and put Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok under house arrest despite hundreds of thousands of demonstrators taking to the streets throughout Sudan five days earlier to protest against this eventuality.