Sudan’s military won’t take part in politics: Army chief

By Bahram Abdel Moneim

KHARTOUM, Sudan (AA) – Sudan’s army chief Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan said Tuesday the military will not take part in politics in the future.

"We are establishing an army that will not participate in politics in the future," al-Burhan said in a televised speech.

"There is no military personnel staging a coup, it is the politicians who carry out coups," the army chief said, without expounding.

"The army should not have a political role," al-Burhan said. “We are on the verge of a new phase that will be satisfactory to all.”

The army chief vowed to restore stability in Sudan before elections. “We call on politicians to accept the other,” he added.

On Sunday, a spokesman for Sudan’s political process said a final agreement between the country’s rivals will be signed in early April to be followed by the formation of a new government as of April 11.

On Jan. 8, political dialogue kicked off in Sudan, based on a framework agreement signed between the military and political forces on Dec. 5 to resolve the country's months-long crisis.

The deal pledges a two-year transition period and the appointment of a civilian prime minister by the political parties that signed the agreement, as well as reforming and unifying the military.

Sudan has been without a functioning government since October 2021, when the military dismissed Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok's transitional government and declared a state of emergency, a move decried by political forces as a "military coup."

Sudan’s transitional period that started in August 2019 was scheduled to end with elections in early 2024.

* Writing by Mahmoud Barakat