Rival armies have been fighting for control of the African country for nearly two years
Sudan will form a new government after the army regains complete control of the capital, Khartoum, Reuters reported on Sunday, citing military sources from the country, which has been embroiled in a conflict since 2023.
The commander of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the de facto leader of the northeastern African nation, General Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, earlier announced the decision at a meeting with army-aligned politicians in Port Sudan on Saturday.
“We can call it a caretaker government, a wartime government, it’s a government that will help us complete what remains of our military objectives, which is freeing Sudan from these rebels,” Burhan stated.
The army chief said the country’s interim constitution will be amended, and a prime minister will be appointed to manage the state’s executive without interference.
Burhan and his rival – Mohammad Hamdan Daglo, also known as Hemedti, who commands the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) – have been battling for control of Sudan for nearly two years. Fighting broke out between the SAF and RSF in April 2023 after months of tensions over the country’s planned transition to civilian rule.
Burhan, the chairman of Sudan’s Transitional Sovereign Council, and his then-deputy, Hemedti, jointly led a military coup in April 2019 to oust President Omar al-Bashir, who had been in power for 30 years. They did so again in October 2021, when they overthrew the civilian-led transitional authority, with which they had been sharing power since the ouster of Al-Bashir.
Military sources who spoke to Reuters on Sunday claimed the new Sudanese constitution will remove all references to partnership with civilians or the RSF and grant sole authority to the army.
In recent weeks, the army has reportedly reclaimed large swaths of Khartoum and is closing in on the Republican Palace, which is held by the RSF. On Saturday, the SAF announced that it had recaptured Kafouri, a key district in Khartoum North that had served as a base for the RSF. According to Reuters, the paramilitary has retreated, overpowered by the army’s expanded air capabilities and ground forces backed by allied militias.
Last Friday, the UN human rights office (OHCHR) reported that at least 275 civilians were killed between January 31 and February 5 alone due to the intensifying hostilities. Tens of thousands of people have been killed in the conflict, and millions more have been displaced, according to the UN, amid repeated warnings that the African country is on the verge of famine.
