Sudan army plans new government as it advances in capital

The Sudanese army has been regaining control of areas in the city previously held by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in recent weeks.

Army leader Gen Abdel Fattah al-Burhan told a meeting of politicians who back the army over the weekend that he would form a “technocratic” wartime government with a prime minister.

He insisted there would be no negotiations with the RSF. The two sides have been fighting for approaching two years – a conflict that has forced 12 million from their homes and left many starving.

Gen Burhan also said there would be a new constitution prior to the formation of the transitional government.

“We can call it a caretaker government, a wartime government, but it’s a government that will help us complete what remains of our military objectives, which is freeing Sudan from these rebels,” he said on Saturday.

A statement by the foreign ministry on Sunday called on “the international community, particularly the United Nations, the African Union, and the Arab League, to support the roadmap presented by the state as a national consensus for establishing peace and stability and completing the tasks of the transition”.

The army and the RSF, which once worked together, have since been involved in a vicious power struggle.

The ongoing war, in which tens of thousands have been killed, broke out in April 2023 after Gen Burhan and RSF head Gen Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo fell out over the future shape of the government.

The conflict has created one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises, according to international aid agencies.

Both the army and the RSF have been accused of committing grave atrocities against civilians, with their leaders being sanctioned by the US. In addition, the RSF has been accused of carrying out a genocide in the Darfur area.

Both forces deny the accusations.

In recent weeks, the army has had huge victories against the RSF in the capital and Gezira state.

The paramilitary force has retreated from these areas overpowered by the army’s expanded air power as well as ground support by allied militias.

It however still controls most of the west of the country, where intense conflict has been going on as it seeks to consolidate its control of the Darfur region.