Sudan: al-Burhan, an iron hand without velvet glove ·Global Voices<

Within a month, the strong man of Sudan dismissed the Prime Minister, then reinstated him in his functions. Objective: pretend to share power, but continue to decide alone or almost, despite international pressure. Will he make it?

"It's not a blow", he swears on October 26, in fatigues, beret on his head, during a press conference organized at the headquarters of the army, in Khartoum. The day before, Lieutenant-General Abdelfattah al-Burhan dissolved the government and the Sovereignty Council, the transitional body shared by soldiers and civilians since August 2019.

Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok, arrested and placed under house arrest, will be reinstated less than a month later, under pressure from the international community and following a political agreement, but the message is clear: Buhran is alone in charge.

Who is this soldier who makes and breaks the transitions? His life remains shrouded in gray areas, such as the agreement he concluded at the end of November with Hamdok, which does not specify either the date of future elections or the date on which the presidency of the Sovereignty Council will be transferred to civilians.

Abdelfattah al-Buhran was born in 1960 in Gandatu, north of Khartoum, into the Shaiqiya Arab tribe, well represented in the state. His training at the Military Academy was accompanied by stays in Egypt and Jordan. Like many officers in his country, he participated in the war in Darfur from 2003. He also reportedly went to Yemen after coordinating the dispatch of Sudanese troops to support the coalition led by Saudi Arabia since 2015.

Behind the curtain

His fate took a turn during the December 2018 popular uprising against President Omar el-Bashir. In February 2019, he was appointed inspector general of the army, which gave him access to restricted meetings around Al-Bashir. The latter, disputed, feverish, and who knows how his country is prone to coups, proceeds to numerous movements in the army in order to surround himself with faithful. But, in April, the soldiers let him go. Burhan takes the head of a transitional military council, then of the Sovereignty Council, of which he was supposed to deliver the direction to a civilian in mid-November.

A few months ago, a good connoisseur of Sudan confided, not without intuition, to Jeune Afrique: “Burhan is little known abroad and less feared inside the country than other military commanders. However, behind the curtain, he is in a strong position. It remains to be seen whether he will remain in the shadows… ”We now know the answer: the lieutenant-general has opted for the leading roles, and portrays his character: his appearances in civilian costume are rare and he has been leading the country since army headquarters.

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Balancer

Burhan claims to be doing this to protect a country burdened by the divisions of its political class, weakened by the security risk and plunged into economic stagnation. Last September, a quickly foiled coup, led, according to the authorities, by supporters of the old regime, offered him a golden opportunity, that of presenting himself as the guarantor of the revolution.

But for many observers, including Kholood Khair, associated with the think tank Insight Strategy Partners, the reasons for Burhan's reaction – which took the form of the October coup – are to be sought elsewhere: “ The investigation into the massacre perpetrated on June 3, 2019 in Khartoum was progressing. The work of the Committee for Dismantling the Regime and Recovering Public Funds, which could also target soldiers. Above all, Hamdok envisioned bold reforms in the area of ​​security. »

The Prime Minister no longer concealed his intention to regulate the economic activities of the army – present in agriculture, telecoms, and even in small businesses – exempt from taxes and beyond any control by civilians. Between the latter and the "men in khaki", supposed to work hand in hand, the tension was mounting. Burhan shunned meetings with the civilians of the transition, while the latter tried to renew the dialogue with the demonstrators, tireless and resolute. “He is an opportunist, a pragmatist who knew how to seize his chance”, slice Issam Othman, an old backpacker of the Communist Party, exiled in France. He is not all-powerful, and has taken a narrow path. His exercise of power will be like a balancing act. “In Khartoum, today, everyone is suspicious of everyone,” slips a Sudanese journalist.

Ferility

Omar al-Bashir's regime relied on the army, the Islamists of the National Congress [the party of the former president] and the Support Forces rapid, a paramilitary group led by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, said Hemmeti. The latter knows all the influential families in the country and has contacts as far away as the United Arab Emirates. Burhan appointed him number two of the new Sovereignty Council. Between them, if the collaboration is for the moment, the rivalry is not far. “The military are jealous of Hemmeti, who does business with gold,” laughs our journalist.

Cut off from a population which, defying fierce repression, has resumed demonstrations, Burhan must also come to terms with the Islamists of the old regime. However, the man of the counter-revolution did not want to appear like the man of the restoration, which explains the erratic nature of his decisions. Ibrahim Ghandour, cacique of the regime of Omar el-Bashir, was thus released from prison and then arrested again within forty-eight hours. “We feel a certain excitement within the power, underlines Mohamed Osman, researcher at the NGO Human Rights Watch. He is obliged to see how the street reacts. Certain figures of the old regime cannot be rehabilitated so easily. »

Close to Sissi

“Burhan will have to rely on second knives, mediocre ones, sighs Issam Othman. They fired Ahmed Luqman, who, after a fine career in the United States, had taken over as head of public television in the wake of the revolution. Too democratic. They replaced him with an incompetent but disciplined guy, who the Sudanese laugh at. »

The military is also looking for regional support. According to the Wall Street Journal, he would have gone to Egypt in the greatest discretion, the day before his coup, to meet President Abdel Fattah al-Sissi, to whom he is said to be close and who would inspire him.

The outcry within the international community, which has largely disavowed his action, could however embarrass him. The World Bank has suspended aid to Sudan. The United States, which had lifted its sanctions, too. Will Hamdok's return be enough to convince them of Buhran's goodwill? We can doubt it.

Still, no one in Khartoum seems able to oppose him. And certainly not the Prime Minister, who is coming out of this crisis very weakened and whom the population accuses of having made a pact with the devil. The person concerned insisted on the need to put an end to the "bloodbath", but the mobilization does not seem about to weaken.