Sudan’s Burhan forms transitional sovereign council

KHARTOUM — Sudan’s army chief Abdel Fattah Al Burhan has issued a constitutional decree forming a new ruling Sovereign Council, state TV said on Thursday.

Who the new members of the council are is unknown, but Gen Al Burhan, who led the body formed in 2019 after the toppling of long-time autocrat Omar Al Bashir, will keep his position as head of the Sovereign Council.

Gen Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, leader of the feared paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, remains his deputy.

Gen Al Burhan and Gen Dagalo had led the previous ruling council but had been due to hand over its leaderhip to a civilian in the coming months.

The military took control of Sudan on October 25, ousting civilian Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok and detaining over 100 government officials, most of whom remain in custody. Mr Hamdok is under house arrest at his home in Sudan’s capital Khartoum.

The takeover sparked protests across the country, where at least 14 people were killed by security forces, Sudanese doctors said.

The Sovereign Council was appointed on August 20, 2019, – four months after toppling Al Bashir by agreement between the Transitional Military Council and the alliance of Forces for Freedom and Change (FFC), which represents the Sudanese opposition parties.

The original constitutional document stipulated that the Council would assume the leadership of the country during a transitional period of 39 months to be followed by general elections.

The council initially consisted of 11 members: five military officers nominated by the Transitional Military Council, and six civilians nominated by the FFC.

Last February, Gen Al Burhan issued a decree appointing three new members to the Sovereignty Council to include leaders of former rebel movements in regions like Darfur, who joined the government after signing a peace agreement in October 2020, bringing the number of council members to 14.