Sudanese adviser slams calls for restructuring army amid tension

KHARTOUM, Sudan

A media adviser to the head of Sudan’s ruling Sovereign Council, Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, on Saturday criticized calls for restructuring the Sudanese army.

"Talking about restructuring the armed forces is intended to leave Sudan without an army or claws, to make it easier to divide and swallow it," Brigadier-General Al-Taher Abu Haga, said in a statement.

He described the calls as a "malicious” campaign targeting “the army and the dignity and pride of every Sudanese officer and soldier."

On Tuesday, the National Consensus Forces (NCF), which is a party to the Forces of Freedom and Change alliance, called for restructuring the Sudanese army and other regular forces, and the expulsion of remnants of the former regime of Omar Al-Bashir.

A similar call was made in May this year by the Forces of Freedom and Change coalition.

Notable parties in the coalition are the National Umma Party, the Sudanese Congress Party, and the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party.

Abu Haga slammed those calling for restructuring the army as seeking to “falsely portray to the world that the military is against democratic transition and the civil state.”

He hailed Al-Burhan for being “the leader of openness to the international community, the leader of the campaign to lift the siege on Sudan, and the protector of the democratic transition.”

Disagreements between the military and civilian components of the transitional government have intensified over a number of issues, including ongoing protests in eastern Sudan, power handover to civilians, and appointing a chief justice.

On Friday, a member of the Sudanese Sovereign Council, Muhammad al-Faki Suleiman, accused the military component of trying to control the political situation in Sudan.

On Tuesday, Sudanese authorities thwarted a coup attempt by a group of military officers.

Since Aug. 21, 2019, Sudan has been going through a 53-month transitional period that will end with elections in early 2024.

Power is currently shared by the army, the Forces of Freedom and Change alliance, and armed movements that signed a peace agreement with Khartoum on Oct. 3, 2020.

*Writing by Ibrahim Mukhtar