The general’s remarks on Monday follow a deadly week for Sudan’s pro-democracy movement, as large-scale protests demanding an end to military rule continued in the Khartoum region since Thursday. Nine people were killed and at least 629 injured in the crackdown by security forces on the protests, according to the Sudan Medical Commission, which identified protest victims. “The armed forces will not stand in the way” of the democratic transition, al-Burhan said in a televised address, reaffirming the military’s commitment to work for “elections in which the Sudanese people choose who will rule them.” The ruling sovereign council, headed by al-Burhan and made up of military and civilian members, will be dissolved after the new government is formed, he said. A new Supreme Council of the Armed Forces will be established after the formation of the government and will be responsible for security and defense duties and “related responsibilities” in agreement with the government, the military leader said. The military’s withdrawal from political talks was intended to allow political and revolutionary groups to form the technocrat government, he said. Al-Burhan called on the groups to start “a direct and serious dialogue … that will put everyone back on the path of democratic transition.” The military would commit to implementing the dialogue’s results, he said, though he did not specify how much of a political role the armed forces would play in the future.
“Very clear about their requests”
Since the military seized power in October 2021, authorities have met the nearly weekly street protests with a deadly crackdown that has so far killed 113 people, including 18 children, according to observers. Al Jazeera’s Hiba Morgan, reporting from the Sudanese capital Khartoum, said the protesters were “very clear about their demands”, namely that they “don’t want the army to remain in power”. General al-Burhan’s statement is unlikely to appease those protesting against the military, Morgan said. “With the statement by the head of the army, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, it is clear that the army will remain in charge until the political parties reach some sort of consensus on the formation of a transitional government and set a deadline for elections,” Morgan said. . “This does not sit well with the protesters. They have been demanding, for seven months, to see the military removed before they see any form of negotiations between political parties to form a civilian-led transitional government,” he said. “When it comes to political parties, they have trouble getting that consensus,” Morgan added. “And let’s not forget that on the day of the takeover, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan said it was political differences between the parties that led the army to take power and dismantle the transitional government that was to lead Sudan to democracy.” . Since the coup that brought al-Burhan to power, the UN’s political mission in Sudan, the African Union and the East African Group of Eight, a regional Intergovernmental Authority on Development, have been trying to find a way out of the political impasse. But the talks have yielded no results so far. Pro-democracy groups have repeatedly said they will not negotiate with the military and have called on them to immediately hand over the reins to a civilian government. Protesters were not moved by the general’s words, and in Khartoum’s Buri district, new protesters came out immediately after Al Burhan’s televised speech. “We don’t trust Burhan,” said Muhannad Othman, perched on a barricade set up by protesters. “We just want it gone once and for all.” A protester in central Khartoum, Umeima Hussein, said Al Burhan should be “tried for everyone who was killed after the coup” and vowed that protesters would “topple him like we did Bashir.” Sudan has been mired in turmoil since a military takeover overturned its short-lived transition to democracy after 30 years of repressive rule by former strongman Omar al-Bashir. Al-Bashir and the government were ousted by the military in a popular uprising in April 2019.
