Defending the October coup: Sudanese general promises to transfer power

In 2021, one of Sudan’s top generals led a coup against the country’s interim government. He later called the coup a “mistake.”

Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, commander of the nation’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, expressed regret for the action in a speech on Sunday.

The leader of the nation’s paramilitary known as the Rapid Support Forces said, “In the school of life, I learned a lot.

“The old path of Sudan is unfair and regrettable, and this is one of the most important lessons. So when I saw young people from the glorious December Revolution, I did not think twice to stand with them in opposition to the injustice, tyranny, and corruption of the former regime. I wanted to share their desire to build Sudan and improve things, he said.

“I gave it my best effort, but I occasionally erred and suffered injury. The coup on October 25th was the most recent error. What I discovered right away was that it would not result in what we initially desired, which was for it to be a way out of political gridlock. However, it would regrettably serve as a bridge for the return of the previous regime. The general, also known as Hemedti, said in the televised address, “This prompted me to not hesitate to return to the right thing and I sincerely want to leave political power and hand it over to a transitional civilian authority.

Political unrest

Since the country’s top military official, Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan, orchestrated a coup in October 2021 that halted the country’s transition to democracy following the ouster of former president Omar al-Bashir in 2019, Sudan has been in upheaval.

The Forces for the Declaration of Freedom and Change and the Sudanese military signed a framework agreement on December 5 in an effort to break the deadlock, promising to install a new civilian government and usurp the military.

The agreement, which has been rejected by a number of significant political forces, only provides a broad outline of how the nation will resume its transition to democracy.

Additionally, it avoided discussing delicate political topics like transitional justice and specifics about military reform. It’s unclear when or how Dagalo and Burhan will transfer power to a new civilian administration after the coup.

In his speech on Sunday, Dagalo reaffirmed this. He said that his goal is to “step down from politics and give power to a civilian transitional authority.”