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Sudan security forces resist calls for civilian control

Civilian leaders are pressuring military and security commanders to surrender their influence in politics and the economy, yet vested interests make them unlikely to oblige.
Sudan's Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok gives a press conference with French President Emmanuel Macron during the International Conference in support of Sudan at the temporary Grand Palais, Paris, May 17, 2021.

Sudan’s fragile transition to democracy will not succeed unless the military submits to civilian command and integrates rival security forces into its ranks, yet generals refuse to give up power, say analysts and activists. 

Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok raised the subject after the military foiled a coup by dissenting officers Sept. 21. Abdel Fatah al-Burhan, head of the military and chairman of the Sovereign Council that is leading the transition, replied that civilian leaders were ungrateful for the army’s role in protecting the path to democracy.

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