During an inspection visit to the Khattab military base north-east of the capital Khartoum, the President of the Sovereign Council and the Commander of the Sudanese Armed Forces, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, stressed the importance of dialogue among all the parties and factions in the country, but noted that the army would not be an idle spectator as the country collapsing, and the army would not give up its arms and role in ensuring security. while the political forces continued their dialogue.
In his speech on Sunday, he announced that the armed forces had witnessed many important and real changes in their organization and conduct.
We are not siding with any particular party
He stressed that the armed forces were national forces, protecting the country and its citizens, and did not belong to any party, faction or group, Neither the National Party nor the Islamic Movement or the Communist Party or others. To those accusations of being loyal to a particular group, he asserted that the armed forces belonged only to the country.
In his speech he addressed the Islamic movement saying: “Take your hands off the army.”
He also noted that the military and their leaders had been attacked by certain groups, but he warned them against incitement, as he put it.
The regular forces were also considered to be a red line, “not allowed to be manipulated”.
We have red lines
About the country’s ongoing political dialogues and understandings, he said: “Indeed, there is true understandings, but we have red lines, and we will not allow the dismantling of the military or the country,” The Sudan will not endure repeated initiatives without agreement, stressing that “the Sudanese do not deserve to remain without a government for 3 years”.
Moreover, he said that we would not accept the collapse of the Sudan while the political forces continued their dialogues.
These statements came after the past weeks saw an atmosphere of optimism about the imminence of a solution more than a year after the political blockage that took over the country, expressed by Volker Perthes, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Sudan, despite some contradictory statements by some of the poles of the Forces for Freedom and Change, the main component of the civilian opposition recently.
The Sudan, one of the world’s poorest countries, is still mired a political and economic recession since 25 October 2021, when the military imposed extraordinary measures and dissolved the previous government, despite all United Nations efforts to launch dialogue sessions leading to a solution between civilians and the military.