KHARTOUM —
Sudan’s main civilian bloc on Tuesday rejected a
proposal by the country’s coup leader to make way for a civilian government as
a “giant ruse” and urged more protests.
اضافة اعلان
Army chief
Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, whose power grab
last October derailed a transition to civilian rule, had vowed in a surprise
move Monday to “make room” for civilian groups to form a new transitional
government.
But the main civilian umbrella, the Forces for
Freedom and Change, called for “continued public pressure” on the streets after
days of protests. It dismissed Burhan’s move as a “tactical retreat and a
transparent maneuver”.
“The coup leader’s speech is a giant ruse, even
worse than the October 25 coup,” said FFC leader Taha Othman. “The crisis will
end with the coup leaders resigning and the forces of the revolution forming a
civil government.”
The transitional government uprooted by Burhan last
year had been painstakingly forged between the military and civilian factions
in 2019, following mass protests that prompted the army to oust longtime
dictator Omar Al-Bashir in April that year.
On the streets of Khartoum, protesters defied
security forces and held firm on their makeshift barricades, despite heavy
fatalities late last week.
“We don’t have confidence in Burhan,” said Muhammad
Othman, perched on a pile of bricks. “We just want him to leave once and for
all.”
Security forces — as they have done repeatedly
during the long-running protests — sought to break up the crowds by firing
barrages of stun grenades and tear gas, according to pro-democracy medics.
‘Core grievances remain’
The
FFC has so far refused
to take part in talks with military leaders, despite pressure from
international brokers that range from the UN, to the African Union and regional
bloc IGAD.
Burhan said late Monday the military would no longer
participate in the talks, wanting instead “to make room for political and
revolutionary forces and other national factions” to form a civilian
government.
Sudan, one of the world’s poorest countries, has
seen only rare interludes of civilian rule. The latest coup not only worsened a
political crisis but has also pushed the country deeper into a dire economic
slump.
Burhan’s televised address came as hundreds of
anti-coup demonstrators continued protests.
Pro-democracy medics said nine demonstrators lost
their lives on Thursday, the deadliest violence so far this year, bringing to
114 the number killed in the crackdown against anti-coup protesters.
Protester Oumeima Hussein, speaking Monday, said the
army chief must be “judged for all those killed since the coup” and vowed to
“topple him like we did to Bashir”.
Hours after his
surprise announcement, Burhan on Tuesday flew to Kenya for an IGAD emergency
summit of
East African leaders.
Kholood Khair, of the Khartoum think-tank Insight
Strategy Partners, said she believed Burhan’s announcement was made to put “the
pressure on the civilians”, but warned that it might change little on the
ground.
“There’s no talk of accountability,” Khair said,
noting that “core grievances remain.”
Khair warned that protesters feared that, after
Burhan had put Bashir-era “Islamists back in government”, the coup leader was
setting the military and allied armed groups up to “retain economic
privileges”.
New ‘supreme council’
Sudan’s military dominates
lucrative companies in sectors from agriculture to infrastructure.
Burhan’s pledge Monday to step aside for a new
civilian “government” with “executive” powers was accompanied by another pledge
— the establishment of a new “Supreme Council of Armed Forces”.
This body would be in charge of defense and
security, he said, feeding into concerns among opponents that it would not be
answerable to any government.
Burhan said the Supreme Council would combine the
regular army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, a much feared and
powerful unit commanded by Burhan’s deputy,
Mohamed Hamdan Daglo.
He also said that the ruling Sovereign Council -
established as a key institution of the post-Bashir transition - would be
disbanded.
While rejected out of hand by the main civilian
bloc, Burhan’s announcements were welcomed by an ex-rebel senior commander who
signed up to a 2020 agreement seeking to end Sudan’s conflicts and integrate
insurgents into the army.
“Burhan’s speech had some positive points,” said Mubarak
Ardol on Tuesday, without elaborating, other than to affirm his own
“unconditional” commitment to internationally brokered talks.
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