Sudan military leader tightens grip on country, dismisses senior intelligence officers

Sudanese Sovereign Council head Abdel Fattah al-Burhan has ordered the dismissal of at least 8 senior intelligence officers and replaced the head of general intelligence in what seems to be a worrying slide back into military dictatorship for the country, a Reuters report alleged.

An agreement signed a week ago specified that Hamdok will lead a government of technocrats during a political transition expected to last until 2023, and that all political detainees are to be freed. Prominent political critics were also imprisoned during the military coup led by al-Burhan on October 25. Britain, Norway and the USA have also called for a release of political detainees.

Burhan signed a 14 point deal to restore Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok who was placed under house arrest after the coup. Sudan has been rocked by unrest as pro-democracy groups rallied across the country insisting that the military transfer complete power to the civilian government. The current Transitional Military Council is a compromise which balances military and civilian representation after the overthrowing of dictator Omar al-Bashir.

The protestors have been demanding more civilian representation as well as the deportation of Bashir and others accused of committing human rights violations to the International Criminal Court. The main Forces of Freedom and Change (FFC) political coalition that had been sharing power with the military, as well as pro-democracy activists who have led protests since the 2019 uprising, have rejected the new deal, accused Hamdok of having betrayed democracy and allowed the military to gain control by establishing their own political pawns in the government.