Disputes Erupt over Formation of Partnership Council to Steer Sudan Transition

Sudan’s Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok (L) and Sovereign Council chief General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan attend the opening session of an economic conference in the capital Khartoum, September 26. (AFP)
Sudan’s Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok (L) and Sovereign Council chief General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan attend the opening session of an economic conference in the capital Khartoum, September 26. (AFP)
TT
20

Disputes Erupt over Formation of Partnership Council to Steer Sudan Transition

Sudan’s Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok (L) and Sovereign Council chief General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan attend the opening session of an economic conference in the capital Khartoum, September 26. (AFP)
Sudan’s Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok (L) and Sovereign Council chief General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan attend the opening session of an economic conference in the capital Khartoum, September 26. (AFP)

A decree by the Sudanese Sovereign Council to appoint a “council of partners for the transition” has prompted a wave of uproar among members of the body and its opponents.

Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok warned that he may quit the Sovereign Council, saying that the decree went against the agreement on the structure of the partners body and its privileges.

Information minister and government spokesman Faisal Mohammed Saleh told Asharq Al-Awsat on Friday that the prime minister was “surprised” by the decree.

Sovereign Council Chairman, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan had on Thursday issued a decree to form the 29-member Transitional Partners Council. It will be tasked with managing the transitional period, serving the country’s higher national interests and resolving disputes among various parties.

Saleh said, however, that those involved had agreed to form a “political consultative council” that brings together various political partners to resolve potential disputes. This council would not become involved in sovereign, executive and legislative authorities.

The agreement had called for the inclusion of five officers in the partners council, not six, he added.

The decree is “unsatisfactory, neither in its structure, nor in its jurisdiction,” he went on to say. “This is not what we agreed on.”

The agreement was for the council to be formed of peace partners, he revealed. The Forces for Freedom and Change and officers in the Sovereign Council used to hold talks in their capacity as signatories of the “constitutional document” and therefore, the partners of peace must be part of these talks.

Moreover, Saleh remarked that the fact that the decree was issued by the Sovereign Council makes it seem that it was acting as a “substitute to the legislative council.”

“This is unacceptable to any party. The council must be restructure and its duties amended so that it does not have power over either the legislative or executive authorities,” he demanded.



Netanyahu Aide Faces Indictment over Gaza Leak

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, speaks to reporters before a meeting with lawmakers at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, July 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, speaks to reporters before a meeting with lawmakers at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, July 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
TT
20

Netanyahu Aide Faces Indictment over Gaza Leak

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, speaks to reporters before a meeting with lawmakers at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, July 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, speaks to reporters before a meeting with lawmakers at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, July 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

An aide to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faces indictment on security charges pending a hearing, Israel's attorney general has said, for allegedly leaking top secret military information during Israel's war in Gaza.

Netanyahu's close adviser, Jonatan Urich, has denied any wrongdoing in the case, which legal authorities began investigating in late 2024.

Netanyahu has described probes against Urich and other aides as politically motivated and on Monday said that Urich had not harmed state security. Urich's attorneys said the charges were baseless and that their client's innocence would be proven beyond doubt, reported Reuters.

Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara said in a statement late on Sunday that Urich and another aide had extracted secret information from the Israeli military and leaked it to German newspaper Bild.

Their intent, she said, was to shape public opinion of Netanyahu and influence the discourse about the slaying of six Israeli hostages by their Palestinian captors in Gaza in late August 2024.

The hostages' deaths sparked mass protests in Israel and outraged hostages' families, who accused Netanyahu of torpedoing ceasefire talks that had faltered in the preceding weeks for political reasons.

Netanyahu vehemently denies this. He has repeatedly said that Hamas was to blame for the talks collapsing, while the group has said it was Israel's fault no deal had been reached.

Four of the six slain hostages had been on the list of more than 30 captives that Hamas was set to free if a ceasefire had been reached, according to a defense official at the time.

The Bild article in question was published days after the hostages were found executed in a Hamas tunnel in southern Gaza. It outlined Hamas' negotiation strategy in the indirect ceasefire talks and largely corresponded with Netanyahu's allegations against the militant group over the deadlock.

Bild said after the investigation was announced that it does not comment on its sources and that its article relied on authentic documents. The newspaper did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Monday.

A two-month ceasefire was reached in January this year and included the release of 38 hostages before Israel resumed attacks in Gaza. The sides are presently engaged in indirect negotiations in Doha, aimed at reaching another truce.

In his statement on Monday, Netanyahu said Baharav-Miara's announcement was "appalling" and that its timing raised serious questions.

Netanyahu's government has for months been seeking the dismissal of Baharav-Miara. The attorney general, appointed by the previous government, has sparred with Netanyahu's cabinet over the legality of some of its policies.