Sudan’s army commander General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan has created a new ruling sovereign council with lawmakers from the main bloc seeking a transfer to civilian authority excluded.
According to state media, al-Burhan will continue to chair the council while Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, chief of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, will serve as deputy.
Witnesses say anti-coup protestors in the east of Sudan’s capital, Khartoum, responded to al-Burhan’s actions by blocking highways and burning tyres. According to images shared on social media, similar demonstrations took place in other sections of the city.
Sudan’s deposed Information Minister, Hamza Balloul, claimed the declaration was a continuation of the coup, and he was convinced the Sudanese people would reject it.
“Burhan and his council’s decisions apply only to themselves, they have no legitimacy and will be met only with contempt and resistance,” said the Sudanese Professionals Association, a protest group.
The move happened more than two weeks after the army disbanded the sovereign council and civilian cabinet and imposed a state of emergency.
The international community strongly criticised the power grab, with the United Nations, Western nations, and Gulf states demanding the return of a civilian-led administration. Since then, national and international attempts to settle the conflict have been underway, while pro-democracy protestors have organised rallies condemning the coup.
The new action by al-Burhan was seen as “very concerning” by UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric, who said that Secretary-General Antonio Guterres wished to “see a return to the transition as quickly as possible”.
