The head of the Sudanese Army said over the weekend that he planned to form a “wartime government” if his forces complete the capture of the capital, Khartoum, this week.
After almost two years of civil war, the Sudanese Army has regained ground in Khartoum in recent weeks from the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and is getting closer to the presidential palace on the River Nile.
Addressing a meeting in Port Sudan on Feb. 8, the head of the army, Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, said, “We can call it a caretaker government, a wartime government; it’s a government that will help us complete what remains of our military objectives, which is freeing Sudan from these rebels.”
The retreating RSF has stated that it would support the formation of a rival civilian administration.
Burhan ruled out a cease-fire for Ramadan, which starts on Feb. 28, unless the RSF ceases its attacks on the city of al-Fashir in Darfur.
The civil war broke out in April 2023 when the RSF, led by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti, openly challenged the army after years of working closely together. The RSF had supported the army when it ousted the country’s longtime leader, Omar al-Bashir, in 2019.
The RSF took the upper hand in the initial fighting, forced the army out of Khartoum, and besieged its main headquarters.
But in the past month, the army has made considerable advances, capturing the city of Wad Madani, southeast of Khartoum, and moving into the city’s suburbs.
RSF Still Controls Darfur
The RSF still controls most of the Darfur region and wide swaths of the Kordofan region, both to the west of Khartoum.The war has displaced more than 12 million people, with half the population driven to the edge of starvation.
During the press conference on Feb. 8, Burhan said the country’s interim constitution—adopted in 2021—would be changed so that the army could appoint a technocrat as prime minister, supported by a Cabinet.
Burhan also called on the civilian Taqaddum coalition, led by former prime minister Abdalla Hamdok, to support the army’s new government.
The army is supported by Egypt, while the RSF has in the past been supported by Russia. The United Arab Emirates has persistently denied claims that it had also armed the RSF.
The army’s recent gains appear to have been a combination of the swelling of their ranks from the support of allied militias and the addition of new Chinese fighter jets.
Super Bowl Sudan Protest
As the fighting continues in Sudan, a performer in Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl halftime show could face charges after unfurling a combination Sudanese–Palestinian flag during the show.He stood on a car and held up the flag, which had “I love Sudan” and “Gaza” written on it.
The New Orleans Police Department said in a statement, “Law enforcement is working to determine applicable charges in this incident.”
The NFL confirmed that the man was part of the 400-member field cast.
The NFL stated: “The individual hid the item on his person and unveiled it late in the show. No one involved with the production was aware of the individual’s intent.”
