The French newspaper La Croix said that many Sudanese soldiers denounce the repercussions of the October 25, 2021 coup that allowed army chief General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan to seize power, denouncing the rise in bread prices, the suppression of demonstrations and the arbitrary arrests that followed.
In a report for the newspaper from its correspondent in Khartoum, Augustine Basile, the soldier Abdullah (the name and all the names of the soldiers mentioned in this report are not true for security reasons) confirms that “everyone is against the coup,” but this person who spoke in an unofficial place did not accept cooperation with the reporter after what he said. Because of the risks faced by professional military critics of the regime, he even rejects the term "coup" preferring to express what he sees as a "correction" of the path of democratic transformation that began two years earlier.
Brigadier General Nabil Abdullah Ali, who was promoted to army spokesman last January, said, "Al-Burhan took this decision not to seize power, but to pave the way for a national consensus representing all political parties except for the National Congress (the party of ousted President Omar al-Bashir) in order to Formation of an independent government of technocrats.
However - the reporter says - the soldiers who agreed to testify are unanimous in condemning the consequences of this show of force, and Air Force Lieutenant Kamal Khaled says, "On October 25, 2021, when army leaders began arresting civilians who had shared power with them until that Then, I was hoping that a better government would take over. Now I see that the situation has deteriorated."
Ahmed, an Air Force officer who resigned in mid-February after 12 years of service due to “personal reasons and because of disagreements with my boss,” summarizes, saying, “On October 25, no one knew what was happening, even the senior officers, and most of the officers knew about this.” Decisions come from television or social media, and we within the army call it a coup.”
At a time when about 150 officers were retired, “more than 2,700 others were promoted, and the army spokesman justified this by saying that these transfers have taken place every year since the establishment of the armed forces after independence in 1956, and we are working according to the rules and regulations,” but his colleague Lieutenant-General Issam Karrar The one who commands the ground forces spoke in an interview with the Sudanese Al-Hilal satellite channel about a "political purification and prevention process."
worsening situation
"No one thought the coup was a good idea, all the decisions that have been taken since then have only exacerbated the situation, the economy is deteriorating, prices are rising daily, and protesters are injured or killed every day," says the resigned Air Force officer. They went victims of violent suppression of pro-democracy rallies and processions.
Ahmed is also concerned about the powerful militia of the “Rapid Support Forces” affiliated with Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (Hemedti), the vice-chairman of the Sovereignty Council, explaining that “most of the officers do not like Hemedti,” warning that a simple dispute that might erupt between the latter and Al-Burhan “may lead to the outbreak of war.” eligibility.”
Brigadier General Al-Sir Saeed, who was dismissed after 26 years of service in the army, is betting in the face of this declared crisis on the imminent withdrawal of the "main engineer" of the coup, saying, "The lower ranks may end up pressing the generals to overthrow Burhan, and the street will never agree to be led by another soldier." The Sudanese are tired of the army."