Sudanese Military Council: We Have Popular Mandate to Form Government of Technocrats

Deputy Head of Sudan’s Transitional Military Council during a press conference held in Khartoum on Saturday, June 15, 2019. (EPA)
Deputy Head of Sudan’s Transitional Military Council during a press conference held in Khartoum on Saturday, June 15, 2019. (EPA)
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Sudanese Military Council: We Have Popular Mandate to Form Government of Technocrats

Deputy Head of Sudan’s Transitional Military Council during a press conference held in Khartoum on Saturday, June 15, 2019. (EPA)
Deputy Head of Sudan’s Transitional Military Council during a press conference held in Khartoum on Saturday, June 15, 2019. (EPA)

Deputy Head of Sudan’s Transitional Military Council Lieutenant General Mohammad Hamdan Dagalo (Hamidati) said the council enjoys a popular mandate to form a government of technocrats.

Hamidati stressed during a press conference in Khartoum on Saturday that they didn't refuse to negotiate and confirmed they are not clinging to power.

He accused some parties of trying to provoke sedition in Sudan, affirming that the country is currently stable and expressed the Council's willingness to negotiate.

In reference to foreign intervention, he noted that some foreign ambassadors have destructed the country and have returned to Sudan for the time being. He concluded by saying that the Sudanese people contributed to changing the regime of ousted President Omar al-Bashir.

His remarks come as Forces for the Declaration of Freedom and Change have put conditions to return to direct negotiations with the Transitional Military Council.

It said it would only agree to negotiate after forming an international committee to oversee the investigation of the sit-in in front of the army headquarters and the subsequent events that resulted in the killing and wounding of dozens of protesters.

They also refused to review previous agreements.

On the other hand, Bashir will stand trial on corruption charges after the one-week period for objections expires, Chief prosecutor Alwaleed Sayed Ahmed Mahmoud said Saturday.

He also said that 41 former officials from Bashir's government are being investigated for suspected graft.

Separately, Mahmoud said the judiciary had not been consulted ahead of a decision to violently disperse a protest camp in the center of the capital in early June. Dozens of people were killed in the crackdown, which undermined talks on a transition to democracy.

The protest camp outside the Defense Ministry became the focal point of protests as demonstrators demanded the military to hand over power to civilians.



Syrian Presidency Pledges Specialized Force to Halt Clashes in Sweida

Smoke rises as a damaged car remains along a street, as Sweida province has been engulfed by nearly a week of violence, at Sweida governorate, Syria, July 18, 2025. REUTERS/Karam al-Masri
Smoke rises as a damaged car remains along a street, as Sweida province has been engulfed by nearly a week of violence, at Sweida governorate, Syria, July 18, 2025. REUTERS/Karam al-Masri
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Syrian Presidency Pledges Specialized Force to Halt Clashes in Sweida

Smoke rises as a damaged car remains along a street, as Sweida province has been engulfed by nearly a week of violence, at Sweida governorate, Syria, July 18, 2025. REUTERS/Karam al-Masri
Smoke rises as a damaged car remains along a street, as Sweida province has been engulfed by nearly a week of violence, at Sweida governorate, Syria, July 18, 2025. REUTERS/Karam al-Masri

Syria's presidency on Friday pledged to send forces to halt the clashes between Bedouin tribal factions and Druze fighters in Sweida, in the south of the country, and urged "restraint.”

In a statement, the presidency urged "all parties to exercise restraint and prioritize reason,” adding: "The relevant authorities are working on dispatching a specialized force to break up the clashes and resolve the conflict on the ground."

Damascus earlier this week dispatched government troops to quell the fighting, but they were hit by Israeli strikes before withdrawing under a truce agreed on Wednesday.

Israel had repeatedly said it would not allow Syrian troops to deploy to the country's south, but on Friday it said it would grant them a brief window to end renewed clashes there.

The Syrian Network for Human Rights said it had documented 321 deaths in fighting since Sunday, among them medical personnel, women and children.

Syria's minister for emergencies said more than 500 wounded had been treated and hundreds of families had been evacuated out of the city.