Sudan army leader says paving way for elected civilian gov’t to assume power

Sudan’s Sovereign Council Chairman Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan said yesterday the army is working to create favourable conditions for an elected civilian government to assume power in the country, Anadolu reported.

This came during a meeting with Germany’s Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa, Heiko Nietzschek, in the eastern city of Port Sudan, a statement by the Sovereignty Council said.

The officials discussed the Sudanese government’s efforts to achieve peace and facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid to those in need, as well as ongoing efforts to conduct a comprehensive dialogue and form a government of technocrats to prepare the country for elections, the statement added.

Al-Burhan has reportedly told the German envoy that the armed forces are reluctant to engage in political activity.

In turn, the German Special Envoy affirmed Berlin’s readiness to support reconstruction efforts in Sudan.

READ: Sudan’s RSF insists that it is ‘strategically repositioning’, not losing fight against army

On Wednesday, Al-Burhan declared the capital Khartoum “free” after his forces expelled the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) from the city.

Over the past few days, the army has taken control of most ministries, government institutions and private institutions in central Khartoum and the Al-Muqran area.

Meanwhile, the retreat of the RSF has accelerated in several states, including Khartoum, Al-Jazirah, White Nile, North Kordofan, Sennar and Blue Nile, according to an Anadolu correspondent.

The army and RSF have been fighting a war since mid-April 2023 that has killed more than 20,000 people and displaced 14 million, according to the UN and local authorities. Research from US universities, however, estimates the death toll at around 130,000.

The international community and the UN have called for an end to the war, warning of an impending humanitarian catastrophe as millions face famine and death due to food shortages. The conflict has spread to 13 of Sudan’s 18 states.

READ: UN says 15,000 Sudanese households displaced from North Darfur town