Sudan’s military leader General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan on Saturday addressed the media for the first time since he took over the country under a coup. Burhan led a military coup on October 25 last year that ended a partnership between the army and civilian parties which was meant to lead to democratic elections, leading to months of protests as well as Western condemnation. During the interview with the media, he dismissed all the sanctions which are being thought to be put on the country by the western powers. He further stated that the meeting between the Sudanese and Israeli officials recently was just to discuss security cooperation and there was no discussion on political agendas. Sudan and Israel brought their relations to normal in 2020 which was a part of a series of US-brokered deals between Israel and four Arab countries. Since then, the countries have been meeting through unannounced trips as well to discuss cooperation and coordination, especially in the security field. Since the establishment of military coup last year, Israel has been silent and the ensuing unrest, indicating it intends to maintain normalised ties with Sudan. In recent weeks officials from both sides of the country have made unannounced visits. He also said that intelligence as well as information sharing has helped them arrest the fighters who have been a major source of conflict in the country. The protestors have been on the streets protesting to end the coup in the country which has led to the death of many.
Sudan’s military leader General Burhan during the interview stated “Sanctions and the threat of them are not useful,” further adding that he took personal responsibility for investigations of protester deaths and that five or six were ongoing. He also said there were suspicions of involvement by “outside groups”, without elaborating.
