Why does Al Burhan fear the civilian political forces in Sudan?

Experts believe that the Commander-in-Chief of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan’s incessant attack on the civilian political forces and former Prime Minister Abdullah Hamdok amounts to an attempt to hinder the popular revolution project that overthrew the regime of former President Omar Al-Bashir and rejected the presence of the Army in power.

Al-Burhan has grown accustomed to attacking the political forces during his speeches at various events, and uttering accusations against their leaders, threatening to prevent them from returning to the country.

In his latest speech, Al-Burhan attacked former Prime Minister Hamdok, and threatened him that he would never be reinstated as head of the government in Sudan. He followed with accusations against unnamed parties, claiming that they’re attempting to “impose Hamdok.”

Al-Burhan stipulated that whoever wishes to rule in Sudan ought to come and fight alongside the Sudanese Army, adding that priority would be given to those currently fighting alongside the Sudanese Army.

Al-Burhan went on to utter further accusations against the leaders of the political forces who reject war and seek to establish peace, describing them as “operatives who speak from abroad on behalf of the Sudanese people.”

Hamdok, who leads a political Alliance called the Civil Democratic Alliance of the Revolutionary Forces (Sumoud), participated in the African Union summit of heads of State in the Ethiopian capital over the past two days, which discussed the situation in Sudan, whilst Al-Burhan was absent due to the suspension of Sudan’s membership in the African Union (AU).

The Real Threat

Political analyst Daoud Khater attributed the Commander-in-Chief of the Sudanese Army’s incessant attacks on the civilian political forces to the fact that they represent the sole threat to Al-Burhan’s ambitions to remain in power.

He pointed out in a statement to (Erem News) that Al-Burhan’s concerns about losing power to the political forces prompt him to attack and brand them with accusations in order to tarnish their reputation in the Sudanese scene, which he plans to monopolize.

“Al-Burhan fears Abdullah Hamdok in particular, more than the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) that managed to surround him from all sides, because he is able to coexist with the bloody reality and the continuous fighting that ensures his position as ruler, however, the political forces threaten his authoritarian project because they rely on words and spreading awareness as an alternative to weapons,” according to Daoud Khater.

He explained that Al-Burhan is aware of Hamdok’s domestic popularity as well as the international support he enjoys. Khater went on to note that Al-Burhan seeks to exploit the turbulent climate in Sudan to distort the image of his opponents and political rivals through accusations of treason and other means to manipulate the Sudanese public opinion.

The political analyst reiterated that Al-Burhan won’t succeed in his endeavor because the Sudanese people are well aware and versed in his true nature, as well as the true nature of the political forces and Hamdok. He indicated that when the war ends, the people will take to the streets again to express their rejection of the militarization of the State and to demand civilian rule in order to achieve the slogans of the December Revolution that overthrew Al-Bashir.

Hindering the Revolution

For his part, political analyst Salah Hassan Jumaa stated that Al-Burhan’s attack on the democratic civil forces is nothing but an attempt to eliminate the popular revolution project that overthrew Al-Bashir’s regime and rejected the presence of the Army in power.

He told (Erem News) that Al-Burhan is well aware of the true extent of the political forces’ influence in shaping the political scene in the country, indicating that these forces thwarted Al-Burhan’s project after the coup he carried out against Hamdok’s government on (October 25th, 2021), when the political forces incited the public to organize a series of protests that continued until the outbreak of the ongoing war.

“Al-Burhan wishes to eliminate the Sudanese revolution project in which the masses of the Sudanese people took to the streets to demand civilian rule and the peaceful transfer of power, which the forces sided with after they backed down from continuing to support the coup, at a time when the Commander-in-Chief of the Sudanese Army insisted on turning back the clock,” according to Salah Hassan Jumaa’s expression.

He shared that “Al-Burhan has reneged on all the promises he made to the people who revolted against the regime of ousted President Omar Al-Bashir, and enacted a coup against the Constitutional Declaration. However, today he is attempting to play the role of the savior of the Sudanese people from this war and appoint himself President of the country through fabricated forces.”

He pointed out that Al-Burhan continues to attack the active political forces that adopt the project of civilian rule and advocate the removal of the Sudanese Army from politics, because the aforementioned forces spread awareness amongst the Sudanese public utilizing words and not weapons, they confront hate speech and seek to unite the Sudanese around a political project to rule the country through elections and the peaceful transfer of power.

The political analyst added: “This is the reason why Al-Burhan attacks civilians incessantly, as he fears that his fate -at their hands- will be similar to the fate of Al-Bashir.”

In his latest speech, Al-Burhan called on the Vice President of the Sudanese Congress Party (SCP), Khaled Omar, to return and carry arms alongside the Sudanese Army.

Khaled Omar was rather quick in his response to Al-Burhan, as he stated -sarcastically- that he “advocates peace, not violence and fighting, and has never been a proponent of war or destruction.”

Omar confirmed in a post on the (X) platform that “The sole concern of the democratic civil forces is to mend the social fabric instead of tearing it apart with hate speech and incitement.”

He added: “We have no craft other than peace and construction, as we have never been among the advocates of killing and destruction. And we will remain committed to these principles until Sudan finds a way out of this dark tunnel, sooner rather than later.”