Dressed in his usual military attire, Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, leader of last October’s coup in Sudan, announced on July 4 in a speech on state television that the armed forces will withdraw from political negotiations to form a new government and will cede the initiative to civilian political forces. However, Burhan also stated that once the new executive is formed, he will dissolve the Sovereign Council, which currently serves as head of state and which he himself heads, and will instead establish a vague military council with no civilian oversight and with wide-ranging powers yet to be defined.
In his brief appearance, Burhan stated that his new proposal seeks to allow Sudan’s political and revolutionary forces to sit down and agree on the formation of a new government charged with undertaking “all the demands of the transitional period.” He also said that the new Supreme Council of the Armed Forces he envisions would be composed of the army and the ruthless Rapid Support Forces, a powerful paramilitary group, and would be in charge of the high command of the regular forces, security and defense matters, as well as all other competencies to be agreed upon with the new executive.
