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Transitional Military Council (2019)

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The Transitional Military Council (TMC) was the military junta governing Sudan that was established on 11 April 2019, after the 2019 Sudanese coup d'état that took place during the Sudanese Revolution, and was formally headed by Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, Inspector of the Armed Forces, after Ahmed Awad Ibn Auf resigned as leader one day following the coup.[1]

The TMC and the Forces of Freedom and Change alliance (FFC) signed a political agreement on 17 July. On 4 August, a constitutional declaration, which followed up on the 17 July agreement, was completed. The agreements provided for the transfer of power to a new body known as the Sovereignty Council and to other transitional state bodies.

Structure and members

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Lieutenant General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo ("Hemetti") was formally the deputy leader but seen as the de facto real leader.[2]

On 20 August 2019, the Sovereignty Council was established, officially dissolving the TMC and transferring power to the new council.[3]

Leadership

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Hemetti, formally the deputy leader of the Council, is the commander of the Rapid Support Forces,[4] and as such, is seen by The Washington Post as holding more real power in the Council than al-Burhan.[2] The RSF is the immediate successor organisation to the Janjaweed militia.[4]

The Council's media spokesman is Major General Shams Ad-din Shanto.[5] Some of the Council's other known members were General Galaledin Alsheikh,[6] a former deputy director of security,[7] Lieutenant General Al-Tayeb Babakr Ali Fadeel, who led the public order police,[7] and Lieutenant General Omar Zain al-Abidin served as the leader of the junta's "political committee."[8] All three tendered their resignations on 24 April.[9] General Gamal Omar of the TMC commented publicly on the 30 June 2019 mass demonstrations, attributing the responsibility for ten deaths to the protest organisers.[10]

3 June 2019 Khartoum massacre

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Main article: Khartoum massacre

On 3 June 2019, the TMC's security forces, including the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) led by TMC deputy leader Hemeti, killed about 100 civilians and injured hundreds of others in the Khartoum massacre. The Sudanese Professionals Association (SPA) described the TMC leaders as being "deep to their knees in the blood of the innocent in Darfur, Nuba Mountains and Blue Nile, in addition to Khartoum and other cities and towns" and organised a 3-day general strike.[11]

Negotiations and power transfer

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April–June negotiations with civil society

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Major General Shanto, in a press conference on 14 April, stated that the Council was inviting the opposition and protestors to name a civilian government[5] (except for the Ministries of Defense and Interior)[citation needed] and a prime minister to lead it,[5] which the junta would then "implement".[5]

On 12 June, the Forces of Freedom and Change (FFC) alliance prepared a list of eight civilian members for a 15-member transitional governmental council to replace the TMC, including three women, in addition to Abdalla Hamdok,[12] who was Deputy Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa from 2011 to October 2018,[13][14] as prime minister.[12]

Planned power transfer to Sovereignty Council

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Main article: 2019–2024 Sudanese transition to democracy

On 5 July 2019, the TMC and the FFC agreed on a Sudanese transition to democracy deal, including an 11-member sovereign council with five military members, five civilian members, and one civilian chosen by consensus; a civilian cabinet; a legislative council; an investigation into the Khartoum massacre and related events; and a legal team to formalise the plan.[15] The new Sovereignty Council would be led by a military person for 21 months and by a civilian for 18 months.[16] On 7 July, al-Burhan, head of the TMC, stated on television that in the context of the transition deal, the TMC would be dissolved.[17]

On 4 August, the TMC, represented by Hemetti, and the FFC, represented by Ahmed Rabee, signed the Draft Constitutional Declaration,[18][19] which states 70 legal articles defining the transfer of power from the TMC to the Sovereignty Council and other transitional state bodies.[20] The signing of the Draft Constitutional Declaration received wide international attention.[21][22]

Attempted anti-TMC coups d'état

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The TMC claimed several times during 2019 that a coup d'état attempt had been foiled and that those responsible had been arrested.

As of 25 July 2019, the TMC had not named the alleged coup plotters of the first four coup attempts.[23]

On 12 July, Gamal Omar of the TMC reported the fourth[23] coup attempt, stating that twelve army and National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS) officers had attempted a coup d'état against the TMC,[24] without naming the alleged conspirators.[23]

On 25 July, the TMC stated that a combined military-Islamist coup attempt had occurred. The TMC stated that it had arrested the head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Lieutenant-General Hashim Abdel Muttalab Ahmed; Major-General Nasr al-Din Abdel Fattah; former Foreign Minister, Ali Ahmed Karti; the commander of the Central District, Major-General Bahar Ahmed; former Minister of Minerals, Kamal Abdel Latif; and Secretary-General of "the Islamic Movement", Zubair Ahmed al-Hassan.[23][25]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Sudan's Ibn Auf steps down as head of military council". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 15 April 2019.
  2. ^ a b Tharoor, Ishaan (18 June 2019). "The Warlord wrecking Sudan's revolution". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 22 June 2019. Retrieved 22 June 2019.
  3. ^ "Sudan forms 11-member sovereign council, headed by al-Burhan".
  4. ^ a b "Sudan coup: Military leader vows to 'uproot regime'". BBC News. 13 April 2019. Retrieved 14 April 2019.
  5. ^ a b c d "Sudan crisis: Military council arrests former government members". BBC News. 14 April 2019. Retrieved 15 April 2019.
  6. ^ Prime Minister of Ethiopia (15 April 2019). "Office of the Prime Minister-Ethiopia". Facebook. Retrieved 16 April 2019.
  7. ^ a b "Sudan crisis: Three top generals agree to quit as protests continue". BBC News. 25 April 2019.
  8. ^ "Sudan coup: Military warns against disturbances". BBC News. 12 April 2019. Retrieved 13 April 2019.
  9. ^ "Three members of Sudan military council resign after demand by opposition". Reuters. Archived from the original on 8 April 2022.
  10. ^ "Sudan protests: Death toll reaches 10 after anti-military rallies". Al Jazeera English. 1 July 2019. Archived from the original on 1 June 2021. Retrieved 1 July 2019.
  11. ^ "Complete civil disobedience, and open political strike, to avoid chaos". Sudanese Professionals Association. 4 June 2019. Archived from the original on 8 June 2019. Retrieved 7 June 2019.
  12. ^ a b Abdelaziz, Khalid (12 June 2019). "Sudan opposition says to nominate members for transitional council". Thomson Reuters. Archived from the original on 12 June 2019. Retrieved 16 June 2019.
  13. ^ "Abdalla Hamdok – Deputy Executive Secretary – United Nations Economic Commission for Africa". United Nations Industrial Development Organization. 2018. Archived from the original on 13 August 2019. Retrieved 13 August 2019.
  14. ^ " "ECA staff bid adieu to Abdalla Hamdok - "a brilliant, true Pan-Africanist"". United Nations Economic Commission for Africa. 30 October 2018. Archived from the original on 16 June 2019. Retrieved 16 June 2019.
  15. ^ FFC; TMC; Idris, Insaf (17 July 2019). "Political Agreement on establishing the structures and institutions of the transitional period between the Transitional Military Council and the Declaration of Freedom and Change Forces" (PDF). Radio Dabanga. Archived (PDF) from the original on 18 July 2019. Retrieved 18 July 2019.
  16. ^ "'Our revolution won': Sudan's opposition lauds deal with military". Al Jazeera English. 5 July 2019. Archived from the original on 2 April 2021. Retrieved 5 July 2019.
  17. ^ "Sudan's military council to be dissolved in transition deal". WTOP-FM. AP. 8 July 2019. Archived from the original on 8 July 2019. Retrieved 8 July 2019.
  18. ^ "(Constitutional Declaration (Arabic))" [(Constitutional Declaration)] (PDF). raisethevoices.org (in Arabic). 4 August 2019. Archived (PDF) from the original on 5 August 2019. Retrieved 5 August 2019.
  19. ^ FFC; TMC; IDEA; Reeves, Eric (10 August 2019). "Sudan: Draft Constitutional Charter for the 2019 Transitional Period". sudanreeves.org. Archived from the original on 28 April 2021. Retrieved 10 August 2019.
  20. ^ "Sudan Constitutional Declaration signed – Sovereign Council to be announced in two weeks". Radio Dabanga. 4 August 2019. Archived from the original on 4 August 2019. Retrieved 4 August 2019.
  21. ^ "Sudan Power-Sharing Deal Finalized, African Union Envoy Says". The New York Times. 3 August 2019.
  22. ^ "Sudan crisis: Military and opposition sign constitutional declaration". BBC News. 4 August 2019.
  23. ^ a b c d "Sudanese army thwarts coup attempt, arrests its chief of staff". Sudan Tribune. 24 July 2019. Archived from the original on 25 July 2019. Retrieved 25 July 2019.
  24. ^ "Sudan' military council says coup attempt thwarted". Sudan Tribune. 12 July 2019. Archived from the original on 25 July 2019. Retrieved 25 July 2019.
  25. ^ "New coup attempt foiled in Sudan – generals detained". Radio Dabanga. 25 July 2019. Archived from the original on 25 July 2019. Retrieved 25 July 2019.
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