Former Sudanese Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok condemned the United Nations' invitation to army leader Lt. Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan to attend the General Assembly meetings in New York.
In a letter to UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, he warned that this move sends extremely dangerous signals that encourage military coups in Africa.
The letter, a copy of which was obtained by Asharq Al-Awsat, was signed by members of the Sovereign Council, including Mohamed al-Faki Suleiman, Al-Tahir Hajar, and Mohammed Hassan al-Taishi, and ministers who were overthrown by the October 2021 coup in Sudan. The coup was led by the military and Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
They stressed that the invitation blatantly contradicts global stances that reject the coup, which halted Sudan's democratic transition.
In the letter, Hamdok's transitional civilian government emphasized that the coup led to a complete constitutional downfall in Sudan, giving rise to a de facto regime, which later collapsed with the outbreak of war on April 15. The war was a direct result of the military coup.
The letter also referenced the positions of the African Union (AU), the UN Security Council, and the European Union (EU), that rejected the coup and demanded that power return to civilians.
The letter added that inviting the army leader to represent Sudan at the General Assembly contradicts declared international positions, warning that it could prolong the ongoing war and send very dangerous signals that encourage military revolts across Africa.
In wake of the coup, the African Union suspended Sudan's membership and the US and the World Bank froze assistance to Sudan, demanding a return to civilian rule.
Meanwhile, on the ground, the RSF announced on Monday the downing of a Sudanese MiG military jet, as fighting with the army escalated in various regions around the capital, Khartoum.
The RSF has for days been waging an assault to capture the army headquarters in the area.
Residents of neighborhoods near the headquarters in central Khartoum reported violent clashes and exchanges of artillery fire around the facility.
Witnesses told Asharq Al-Awsat that the army used drones to strike the attacking forces and successively hit an RSF camp south of Khartoum.
In a statement on the X platform, the RSF confirmed the downing of the military jet, the second such incident in two days.
The RSF said the downed aircraft had carried out attacks against innocent civilians, continuously wreaking havoc on public facilities and marketplaces.
It further alleged that remnants of the National Congress regime, led by Burhan, have adopted a scorched earth policy, deliberately targeting residential neighborhoods, markets, and vital facilities, resulting in the deaths and injuries of thousands of innocent civilians.
