The Forces for Freedom and Change in Sudan refused to accept any mediation to resolve disputes with the military component, stressing their commitment to the constitutional document. On the other hand, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (Hemedti), First Deputy Chairman of the Sudanese Sovereign Council, confirmed that the army will not hand over the police and intelligence except to an elected government.
The spokesman for the Forces for Freedom and Change in Sudan, Jaafar Othman, revealed during a press conference held yesterday evening, Thursday in Khartoum, that there is a dispute regarding the date of the civilian leadership of the ruling Sovereign Council, stressing that this difference must be resolved by a fatwa from the Sudanese Ministry of Justice, as the government’s lawyer.
Othman added that there are those who fear the transition of the presidency of the Sovereign Council to the civilian component, according to the constitutional document, and that Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan holds more than 6 positions, adding that the Sudanese people are the guardian of all authorities.
Osman acknowledged that there were differences in the date of this transition shortly after the signing of the Juba Peace Agreement, which decided to extend the transitional period.
Osman demanded that the file of eastern Sudan be removed from the conflict between the military and the civilian component, stressing that Prime Minister Abdullah Hamdok informed this position yesterday to the military component.
And for the 19th day, the closure of major ports and roads in eastern Sudan continues, by order of the Beja Board of Supervisors, to pressure the government to achieve a number of political demands, including canceling the eastern Sudan track in the Juba negotiations, dissolving the government and forming a non-partisan technocratic government.
Deputy Chairman of the Sovereign Council in Sudan, Lieutenant-General Mohamed Hamdan Hemedti (Al Jazeera)
before it's time
On the other hand, Muhammad Hamdan Hemedti, Commander of the Rapid Support Forces and First Vice-President of the Sovereign Council, said that handing over the presidency of the Sovereign Council to civilians was not discussed, given that the matter was premature.
He stressed during a public meeting that the police and the General Intelligence Service would only be handed over to an elected government.
Hemedti considered that the current crisis revealed the ambition of civilians to reach power, while the military's thinking is focused on how to get the country out of its crisis.
He described the talk of some about the military's requirement that some names be removed from the Sovereignty Council to sit with civilians as mere slander and hypocrisy and baseless.
For days, tension has been escalating between the military and civilian components of the transitional authority, due to criticism directed by military leaders to the political forces, against the background of thwarting a coup attempt last week.
Since August 21, 2019, Sudan has been living a 53-month transitional period that ends with elections in early 2024, during which power is shared by the army, civilian forces and the armed movements that signed the peace agreement.
East Crisis
In this context, Abdullah Obshar, the rapporteur of the Supreme Council of Beja Opticals and Independent Amauds in eastern Sudan, told Al Jazeera that the council welcomes the mediation of the state of South Sudan to resolve the crisis in the east of the country.
And Sudanese Finance Minister Jibril Ibrahim said that the government will resort to transporting medicines and fertilizers to Khartoum by air from eastern Sudan, due to the continued closure of the ports by the Beja Optical Council about 3 weeks ago.
He added that the closure of the eastern ports has begun to affect the supplies coming from that region, especially fuel, whose flow levels have decreased by about 40%, noting that the Beja Board of Supervisors is calling on the central government to dissolve the government and cancel the route of eastern Sudan.
Meanwhile, dozens of trucks and transport vehicles began entering Port Sudan to ship more than 60 containers carrying quantities of medicines and medical supplies.
The Beja Optical Council had allowed a number of trucks loaded with medicines to cross the national road linking Port Sudan and a number of other Sudanese cities, including the capital, Khartoum.
The council said that it excluded drug shipments from the process of closing eastern Sudan on humanitarian grounds, but that it would continue to escalate it against the government in order to pressure to achieve its political demands.
official notification
In turn, the Secretary-General of importers of medicines in Sudan, Youssef Shakak, said that they had received an official notification that international transport companies had stopped shipping goods to Sudan due to the ongoing closure of Port Sudan.
Skeptic added that foreign pharmaceutical manufacturers are facing difficulties in dealing with this crisis, and that some importers have resorted to alternative methods that would double the prices of medicines and delay their timely arrival.
For her part, the Secretary-General of the Sudanese Ministry of Trade, Amal Saleh Saad, said that the stock of strategic goods is sufficient for the country for 40 days due to the closure of the ports of eastern Sudan.