Nov 13,2021:US and allies say coup leader’s appointment of ruling body undermines commitment to restore transition to democracy.
Several Western countries have expressed grave concern over the decision by Sudan’s army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan to appoint a new ruling body weeks after he led a military coup that derailed the country’s fragile transition towards democracy.
Al-Burhan on Thursday issued a decree for the creation of a 14-member Sovereign Council, with himself at the head, and was sworn in late on Thursday. The commander of the feared paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, also known as Hemeti, was sworn in as the council’s deputy head, a position he retained from the previous council.
The new ruling body includes three senior military figures who were part of the previous council, five civilians and three former rebels who signed the Juba peace agreement with the former transitional government aimed at ending decades-old internal conflicts. The latter three have yet to be sworn in.
