Sudan’s Burhan abolishes top army leadership posts

April 6, 2026 (KHARTOUM) – Sudan’s army chief, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, on Monday abolished the positions of deputy commander and assistants to the commander-in-chief of the armed forces.

Burhan had appointed Shams al-Din Kabbashi as his deputy in the army leadership in May 2023, one month after the outbreak of war between the military and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.

At that time, he also named Yasir al-Atta and Ibrahim Jaber as assistants, while they maintained their memberships in the Transitional Sovereign Council.

The spokesperson for the Sudanese army said in a statement that General Burhan issued a decree cancelling Decision 164 of 2023, which established the appointments of the deputy and the assistants.

The statement noted that the officials affected by the cancellation would remain as members of the armed forces’ leadership command.

The move follows major changes to the military general staff made days ago, in which Burhan dismissed General Mohamed Osman al-Hussein as chief of staff.

Sovereign Council member Yasser al-Atta was appointed as the new chief of staff following a restructuring of the body to include new elements.