US targets Iran’s drone program with sanctions

The Sudanese coup leader says a technocrat will lead a new government and the ousted prime minister could return

KHARTOUM: Sudan’s leader of the military coup, who is under pressure at home and abroad to return power to civilians, said a technocratic prime minister could be appointed in a week.

He left the door open so that the man he was ousting could return and form the new government.

Since the dissolution of Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok’s cabinet by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and the arrest of government ministers by soldiers on Monday, western countries have cut hundreds of millions of dollars in much-needed aid to Sudan.

Putsch opponents have under the motto “Leave!” called for mass protests on Saturday.

At least 11 protesters have been killed in clashes with security forces this week, and residents fear extensive crackdowns.

“I am afraid that this country will catch fire. We are afraid that these people will kill our children. There have been enough deaths,” said a Khartoum woman in her 70s on condition of anonymity.

The coup undermined Sudan’s transition to democracy with elections in 2023 after longtime ruler Omar al-Bashir was overthrown two years ago.

While there is no evidence of concrete progress in restoring civil rule, several mediation efforts have been announced. An Egyptian source said Egyptian officials spoke to Burhan to promote a new government.

A committee of national figures has been formed in Khartoum to mediate and meet both the army and civilians, a member told Reuters. A UN special envoy has also offered to facilitate an agreement.

In a speech on Thursday evening, Burhan said Hamdok had been offered the chance to return as prime minister.

“Until tonight we have been sending people to him and telling (Hamdok) … complete the path with us,” Burhan said in the speech broadcast on Al-Jazeera TV. “We told him that we cleaned the stage for you … he is free to form the government, we will not interfere in the formation of the government.”

Hamdok did not give an immediate public response to the suggestion that he could return, but his allies have previously said he wants to restore the civilian role in the government and release all detained ministers.

A minister in Hamdok’s deposed government said on condition of anonymity that cabinet members would not oppose stepping aside for a new government, provided that it is led and elected by Hamdok and the transitional agreement is fully restored.

Burhan said he was transferred to the cabinet to avert civil war after civilian politicians fueled hostility against the armed forces. He says he is still campaigning for a democratic transition, including elections through 2023, but is in favor of a government that excludes partisan politicians.

The new government will be led by a “technocrat agreed by different parts of the Sudanese people” who can be elected within a week and elect a cabinet, he said in a comment on the Russian news agency Sputnik on Friday.

“We will not interfere in the election of ministers,” he said. New members would also be appointed to the Sovereign Council, a civil-military body that it dissolved together with the cabinet.

The UN Security Council has called for the restoration of civil rule, while US President Joe Biden says Washington stands by peaceful demonstrators.

Hamdok, an economist, was initially detained at Burhan’s residence when soldiers rounded up the government on Monday, but was allowed to return home under guard on Tuesday.

A source close to Hamdok said on Wednesday that Hamdok opposes any retreat from the democratic path as a threat to stability. On the eve of the coup, Hamdok resisted pressure to dissolve his cabinet and warned the army not to use force against demonstrators, the source said.

Magdi El Gizouli, a political analyst, said Burhan’s calculation is that he can use force to suppress the opposition if necessary, while counting on the support of people who yearn for stability.

It is important that the army avoid violence on Saturday, but Burhan’s opponents must make realistic demands, he added. “Otherwise you will drive your car over its engine.”

Egyptian officials, including intelligence chief Abbas Kamel, have spoken with Burhan and General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, another senior Sudanese commander, for the past two days to restore calm and mediate the formation of a new government, citing a security source for Egyptian intelligence .

The coup caused donors to freeze much-needed aid in a country where more than half the population lives in poverty and the hardship has fueled instability and civil war. After decades of pariah status under Bashir, Sudan has finally won Western aid, which has only recently begun to stabilize its economy.

Since Burhan became de facto head of state in 2019, he has built good relations with Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.