Sudan army chief appeals to UN to support country’s transition period

The chairman of Sudan’s Transitional Sovereignty Council General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan requested the United Nations to support the transitional period in the country, according to a statement released by his office.

Burhan made the appeal on Thursday during a meeting with the UN Secretary-General’s representative and head of the UN mission in Sudan Volker Perthes.FILE PHOTO: Gen. Abdel Fattah Abdelrahman al-Burhan in Khartoum, Sudan. /Getty Images

During the meeting, Burhan also restated his cooperation with civilian Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok until elections are held and his support for the government Hamdok will form.

Perthes, on his part, conveyed the UN’s interest in the success of the democratic transition in Sudan which has been rocked by protests since a military takeover in October ending a military partnership with civilian political groups since the ouster of former longtime leader Omar al-Bashir in 2019.

The sovereign council of military and civilian officials had been overseeing a transition period until elections in 2023 as part of a delicate power-sharing deal between the military and Forces of Freedom and Change coalition.

The military subsequently reinstated Hamdok last month and pledged to release all political detainees but thousands of protestors have continued their demonstrations against any deal involving the army.

Meanwhile, Sudan’s Sovereign Council on Thursday appointed Khalifa Ahmed as new acting Public Prosecutor to replace Mubarak Mahmoud who was relieved of his duties for ordering the release of a number of individuals in the Bashir regime.

Some of those figures included head of the former ruling National Congress Party Ibrahim Ghandour, security chief Muhammad Hamid Tabidi and business magnates and politicians Mamoun Hamida and Abdel-Basset Hamza.

CGTN AFRICA