Sudan leader appoints 3 allies to top army positions as fighting reduces Khartoum into ghost town

KHARTOUM, MAY 19, 2023 (SUDANS POST) – Sudan’s military leader General Abdelfattah Al-Burhan on Friday afternoon appointed at least three close allies into senior positions within the military, raising fears of further conflict with the Rapid Support Forces despite calls for ceasefire.

In a decree published by the Sudanese Armed Forces’ media unit, Al-Burhan who is the President of Transitional Sovereign Council and Commander in Chief of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) appointed Shams Al-Din Kabashi as the deputy commander in chief of the army.

Al-Burhan in another decree named commander of Omdurman front Yasser Al-Atta, and Ibrahim Jaber, as assistants to the commander-in-chief.

The latest appointments by the military leader come hours after he dismissed leader of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) Mohamed Hamdan Daglo as the deputy chair of the Transitional Sovereign Council, replacing him with SPLM-N leader Malik Agar.

The changes are expected to further escalate the fighting as the once-busy capital Khartoum is increasingly becoming a ghost town due to the fighting that has also witnessed civilians being targeted by gunmen.

The violence erupted between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces as disagreements continued to grow over how and when the paramilitary group should be integrated into the Sudanese army.

In the wake of the fighting, many businesses have been destroyed and residents have been forced to flee their homes and seek safety in other parts of the country or neighboring towns. The sound of gunshots and explosions has become the norm as the fighting continues unabated.

The death toll from these clashes is under 1000, but it could be higher as fighting has made it difficult for dead bodies to be collected and counted. The city’s once bustling markets have been looted and set ablaze by the fighting parties.