Beijing, Oct 30 (Xinhua) - The Sudanese military leader Abdul Fatah Burhan said that a new prime minister will be appointed and a new government will be formed within a week.

In an interview published by the Russian Satellite News Agency on the 29th, Burhan said that the new prime minister will be appointed by a technocrat who has obtained the unanimous agreement of various factions in Sudan to form a cabinet. The military will not interfere in the cabinet formation and will lead Sudan together with the new government.

"We have a responsibility to lead the people and help them through the transitional period until elections are held."

Burhan said that in addition to the new cabinet, new members will be appointed to join the Sovereign Council.

Burhan is the commander-in-chief of the Sudanese Armed Forces and chairman of the Sovereignty Committee. He declared a state of emergency in the country on the 25th and disbanded the Sovereignty Commission and the Transitional Government.

The Office of the Prime Minister of the Transitional Government stated that Prime Minister Abdullah Hamduk was placed under house arrest on the 25th and returned to his residence on the evening of the 26th, but under “close surveillance”. Several Transitional Government ministers and members of the Sovereign Council are still being detained by the military at an unknown location.

Burhan denied that the military launched a coup. According to him, the military's takeover of power is to prevent the differences between the two factions in the transitional government from triggering a civil war.

On the evening of the 28th, Burhan addressed several groups that assisted the military in overthrowing the regime of then-President Omar al-Bashir in 2019, saying that the military is still considering re-appointing Hamduk as prime minister. "Until tonight, we are still sending someone to talk to him, and we still have hope."

The speech was broadcast on Al Jazeera.

According to Reuters on the 29th, citing allies of Hamduk, Hamduk rejected the military’s proposal for cooperation, demanding the restoration of the transitional government and the release of detained government ministers.

There have been sporadic demonstrations in the Sudanese capital Khartoum and other areas in the past few days. Due to poor Internet and telephone signals, the protesters printed and distributed leaflets, calling on people to take to the streets on the 30th to stage large-scale protests.

In April 2019, the Sudanese military overthrew the Bashir regime and established a transitional military committee. In August of the same year, the Transitional Military Commission and the "Freedom and Change Alliance" of non-military political forces reached an agreement to dissolve the Transitional Military Commission and establish the Sudan Sovereignty Commission. The following month, the Sudan Transitional Government was established and Hamduk became prime minister.

According to the above-mentioned agreement, the Sovereignty Committee will be led by a senior military official in the early transition period, and the chairman of the Sovereignty Committee will be held by a civilian official until 2023.

After two years of difficult transition, Sudan's political situation has recently become tense again. The military requested the reorganization of the transitional government, while non-military officials accused the military of intending to seize power. On September 21, an attempted coup took place in Sudan.

The African Union announced on the 27th that it will suspend Sudan’s membership until Sudan’s "transitional government led by civilian officials is effectively restored." On the same day, the World Bank announced the suspension of financial aid services to Sudan.
The UN Security Council issued a media statement on the 28th, urging the Sudanese military to immediately release the detained civilian officials and restore the transitional government led by civilian officials.