Sudan’s arms are extended to all for national reconciliation, army chief says

Sudanese authorities have their arms stretched out to all political components in the country in order to achieve national reconciliation and reach free and fair elections, army chief and Chairman of the ruling Transitional Sovereign Council Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan said yesterday.

Speaking to army officers and soldiers in the Wadi Seidna Air Base, west of the capital, Khartoum, Al-Burhan said the country’s leadership and armed forces will only be handed over to an elected government or by national consensus.

“The brave heroes of the armed forces stationed throughout the country who defend its affairs stand as an impenetrable dam in front of all the dangers facing it.”

Sudan has been living in political turmoil since 25 October when Al-Burhan staged a coup and placed Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok under house arrest.

Following mass protests, Al-Burhan reached a deal with Hamdok in November that reinstated him as prime minister. However, popular protests continued with some demonstrators saying that his reinstatement was helping legitimise the military takeover.

In early January, Hamdok resigned.

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