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 Forces Enter Sweida after Deadly Clashes

Syrian government forces deploy at Mazraa village on the outskirts of the city of Sweida, southern Syria, Monday, July 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)
Syrian government forces deploy at Mazraa village on the outskirts of the city of Sweida, southern Syria, Monday, July 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)
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Syrian Forces Enter Sweida after Deadly Clashes

Syrian government forces deploy at Mazraa village on the outskirts of the city of Sweida, southern Syria, Monday, July 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)
Syrian government forces deploy at Mazraa village on the outskirts of the city of Sweida, southern Syria, Monday, July 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)

Syrian government forces entered the city of Sweida on Tuesday, the interior ministry said, aiming to end clashes that have killed nearly 100 people.

The southern city had been under the control of armed factions from the Druze minority, whose religious leaders said they had approved the deployment of Damascus' troops and called on fighters to hand over their weapons.

A curfew was to be imposed on the southern city in a bid to halt the violence, which erupted at the weekend and has since spread across Sweida governorate.

Government forces said they intervened to separate Bedouin tribes and Druze fighters but ended up taking control of several Druze areas around Sweida, an AFP correspondent reported.

Military columns were seen advancing toward Sweida on Tuesday morning, with heavy artillery deployed nearby.

The defense ministry said later that they had entered the city, and urged people to "stay home and report any movements of outlaw groups".

An AFP correspondent heard explosions and gunshots as soldiers moved into Sweida.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor reported 99 people killed since the fighting erupted on Sunday -- 60 Druze, including four civilians, 18 Bedouin fighters, 14 security personnel and seven unidentified people in military uniforms.

The defense ministry reported 18 deaths among the ranks of the armed forces.