Head of Sudan’s sovereign transitional council, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and his deputy, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti, stressed on Thursday the commitment of the military to the country’s democratic transition.
Burhan and Hemedti met with US envoy for the Horn of Africa Jeffrey Feltman in the Sudanese capital Khartoum.
Burhan hoped that the US would continue to support the transitional government, stressing the importance of allowing political parties that believe in the democratic transition to take part in the transitional political process.
The two sides underscored the importance of the cooperation between the civilian and military components of the transitional authority.
Burhan stressed that the armed forces were keen on protecting the transition and ensuring the success of the democratic transformation.
For his part, Feltman praised the major efforts carried out by the military and civilian authorities in protecting the transition and defeating last week’s coup attempt.
The US will continue to support the interim government and Sudanese people so that they can hold free and transparent elections and form a civilian government that meets their aspirations, he added.
Meanwhile, thousands of people protested in Khartoum and other cities in support of the civilian-led transition to democracy on Thursday following the failed coup.
The attempt, which officials blamed on soldiers loyal to the previous regime of Omar al-Bashir, laid bare divisions between military and civilian groups sharing power during a transition that is meant to run to 2023 and lead to elections.
Many protesters came from outside Khartoum by bus and train from the cities of Atbara and Madani, as they did during protests against military rule just after Bashir’s removal.
Some of the thousands waiting for the trains chanted “the army is Sudan’s army, not Burhan’s army”.
In the days and hours after the coup attempt, civilian officials accused the military of overstepping its bounds, while generals criticized civilian management of the economy and political process, and said their forces were neglected and disrespected.
The military removed Bashir in April 2019 after months of popular protests triggered by an ongoing economic crisis. It then signed a power-sharing deal with the civilian Forces of Freedom and Change coalition.
The FFC supported Thursday’s demonstrations, which were converging on the central Khartoum headquarters of a task force working to dismantle the Bashir regime.
On Sunday, the military rescinded its protection of the task force. Its leaders responded by saying their headquarters would be a war room for any upcoming showdown.
