How Sudanese Islamists perceive al-Burhan accusations

November 19, 2022 (KHARTOUM) – Burhan for the second time in November pointed an accusing finger at the Islamists saying that they were trying to orchestrate a military coup to bring them back to power.

Also, on November 13, he accused communists and nationalist Arabs “Baath Party” of seeking to use the army to control power in Sudan, putting in the same basket three different radical groups.

To explain this dramatic turnaround, Sudan Tribune sought to find out how Islamists see these repeated accusations after they were the main political pillar for Burhan after the October 25, 2021 coup.

Are Islamists a threat?
An Islamist leader who spoke to Sudan Tribune under anonymity refuted this accusation saying the current conditions are not favourable for a military coup

“The logic of military coups is not available now in Sudan in light of the proliferation of armies and armed groups, as there is a strong relationship between successful coups and the ability of military parties to control the project (the coup) and the inevitability of success.” He further ruled out the ability of the fragmented Islamist factions to mobilize action from within the army.

He pointed out that the change that took place on June 30, 1989, was an unprecedented event in terms of its method. The National Islamic Front used its military-trained members who constituted 80% of those forces that carried out the coup.

He concluded that al-Burhan’s warning against using the army to seize power is useless because if they decide to take action that could come from outside the military establishment.

However, he stressed that any military action from the Islamists or others will be unable to win popular support adding that it could “lead to an all-out war”.

New Islamist armed group?
While al-Burhan has just ended his second warning to the Islamists on November 13, a group of the retired military held a press conference to announce the establishment of an armed group to defend the rights of north and central Sudan and to cancel the Juba peace agreement which, gave large shares of power to some tribal components from Darfur, as they claimed.

The Patriotic Entity Forces “BEF” leader is retired Colonel Mohamed Rahmatallah and the commander-in-chief of its army is retired Colonel Khalid Alswarmi. The latter is an Islamist officer and former army spokesman. He also served as the spokesman of the Rapid Support Forces before to sacked from the army after the regime change in 2019.

As for Rahmatallah, he had been dismissed from the army in 2012 after being accused of plotting a coup. Later on, he confessed that he had been a member of the Islamist movement but he quit the organisation.

Ali Issa Abdel Rahman, a retired officer belonging to the same promotion as Alsawarmi, ruled out that Islamists were behind the newly formed BEF.

“Perhaps the motives that led to this move can be explained by one of two things: The personal motivation of Alsawarmi and his group, or one might say that it was fabricated by the military intelligence service to manage the crisis in line with Burhan’s rhetoric and his desperate warnings to political forces against using the armed forces to reach power,” said Abdel Rahman in a comment posted on a WhatsApp group gathering the officers of his promotion:

Retired Maj General Amin Ismail goes in the same direction saying it was an attempt to create political confusion.

“It is just a storm in a teacup,” he said.

Political consumption
The Sudanese Communist Party (SCP) also dismissed al-Burhan accusations saying they are part of a public relations campaign.

“Al-Burhan’s statements on military coups are for political consumption, to  promote the current political settlement, and divert of foreign interference in Sudanese affairs,” said Kamal Karrar, a member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party, told Sudan Tribune:

Karrar added that al-Burhan’s speech about the Communist Party “is a response to the strong presence of the party in the street amid the revolutionary movement that besieges the coup.”

(ST)