Sudan’s military ruler al-Burhan announces elimination of rebellion

KHARTOUM – Head of the Sudanese Sovereignty Council, Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, announced that the Sudanese army had contained what he described as “a rebellion” inside the Intelligence’s Operation Authority, after seizing the institution’s headquarters and re-opening the country’s airspace.

This came in a press statement held by Al-Burhan, today, Wednesday, who commented on the security tension, which took place in the capital, Khartoum, as soldiers, operating under the Sudanese General Intelligence’s Operation Authority, heavily fired gunshots in the air, on Tuesday. Later on, the army declared the end of tension, which resurfaced again following a second shooting in the Intelligence’s headquarters.

In his statements, Al-Burhan said: “The Sudanese state, with all its components, including the armed forces and the security forces, alongside the Sovereignty Council, the Council of Ministers, and the Forces of the Declaration of Freedom and Change, stood together against this conspiracy, plotted against the revolution of the Sudanese people.”

He continued, “I assure you that the armed forces, with all its formations, have resisted every attempt to destabilise the country’s security and forestall the revolution.”

Al-Burhan pointed out that the Sudanese authorities will counter any coup against the revolutionary legitimacy, adding that “the situation has returned to normal and the airspace has been re-opened. Sudanese citizens are free to resume their daily activities.”

For his part, Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok asserted: “May Allah have mercy on our martyrs, who sacrificed their lives.”

Hamdok also praised the “armed forces and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) for their great efforts to stave off this upheaval. We trust the abilities of our armed forces, and we affirm the robust partnership between the civilian and military components to carve a solid and insoluble experience.”

The Sudanese Chief of Staff, Lieutenant General Mohamed Osman Al–Hussein, described the incident of the Operations Authority headquarters as a seditious act.

Al–Hussein pointed out that the Sudanese army decided to storm the headquarters using a minimum force and a simultaneous pace, adding in press statements that “the plan was implemented and the armed forces, as well as the RSF, have taken over all the targeted sites.”

He revealed that two elements of the security forces were killed, and four others were wounded, including two officers, who were injured during the storming operation.

Soldiers affiliated to the Sudanese Intelligence’s Operations Authority fired gunshots heavily in the capital’s sky to protest against denying them their full end-of-service benefits.

The sounds of gunshots and light artillery were heard in the Operation Authority’s sites, namely the Riyadh, Kafouri and Soba camps, in protest against the insignificant amount of money offered by the Sudanese state as the end of service benefits for soldiers, following the issuance of a decision to dissolve the Operations Authority.

Later, the Sudanese army announced that its elements have managed to contain the security breach in Khartoum.

It is estimated that 13,000 elements are affiliated to the Operations Authority, including approximately 7000 soldiers in Khartoum.

Recently, opposition parties and political activists in Sudan have demanded the authorities to shut down the General Intelligence’s Operations Authority in light of accusations about the involvement of this Intelligence branch in killing demonstrators during the widespread protests, which led to toppling Al-Bashir in April 2019.

This article was initially published on the Middle East monitor