Sudanese Opposition Describes Burhan’s Speech as ‘Positive’

Head of Sudan’s Transitional Sovereign Council Abdel Fattah al-Burhan delivers a speech at the conclusion of a military training at Almaaqil area in the River Nile State. (Getty Images)
Head of Sudan’s Transitional Sovereign Council Abdel Fattah al-Burhan delivers a speech at the conclusion of a military training at Almaaqil area in the River Nile State. (Getty Images)
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Sudanese Opposition Describes Burhan’s Speech as ‘Positive’

Head of Sudan’s Transitional Sovereign Council Abdel Fattah al-Burhan delivers a speech at the conclusion of a military training at Almaaqil area in the River Nile State. (Getty Images)
Head of Sudan’s Transitional Sovereign Council Abdel Fattah al-Burhan delivers a speech at the conclusion of a military training at Almaaqil area in the River Nile State. (Getty Images)

A leader in Sudan's opposition Forces of Freedom and Change (FFC) coalition has described a speech delivered by head of the Sovereign Transitional Council Abdel Fattah al-Burhan earlier this week as a “positive step” that paves the way for an inclusive political process.

Burhan’s speech has sparked a debate. Some political groups considered it a step toward resolving the political crisis, while others saw it as a tactic to cause political confusion.

Secretary-General of the National Umma Party Al-Wathiq al-Barir told Asharq Al-Awsat that the opposition forces hope Burhan takes actual steps that would pave the way for a credible transitional government accepted by the Sudanese people.

He affirmed the forces' adherence to the return to the civilian transitional rule.

Speaking to soldiers at an army base north of Khartoum on Sunday, Burhan confirmed that talks on a new political framework for the country were ongoing.

He slammed the regime of ousted President Omar al-Bashir and warned it in harsh words not to interfere with the military or in politics.

“We will join hands with anyone who wants to rescue this country,” he said, adding that he would not agree to anything that leads to the breakup of the military.

Burhan denied that the army supported Bashir's National Congress Party.

“We warn those that want to hide behind the army, and specifically the National Congress Party and the Islamist Movement,” he said.

Former member of the 1989 Revolutionary Command Council for National Salvation Brigadier General Salaheddine Karrar said Burhan’s speech sent a strong message that Sudan’s Islamist Movement and the dissolved National Congress Party have no future in ruling Sudan.

He added in an audio recording that the next settlement will be fully arranged by the US administration, noting that the Islamists and the far-left, represented by the Communist Party and the Arab parties, will be excluded.

Meanwhile, the tripartite mechanism - the United Nations, the African Union, and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development - continued consultations with political forces other than the FFC.

The tripartite mechanism convened with the Democratic Unionist Party, the National Congress Party and the Sudanese Professionals Association.

The Association backed the tripartite mechanism’s efforts, stressed that the remnants of the former regime shouldn’t take part in the transitional period, highlighted the necessity of reforming the security and military, and insisted on resisting impunity.

Sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that the tripartite mechanism is holding final consultations after reviewing the comments of the army commanders on the draft constitution, drawn up by the Sudanese Bar Association.



Macron Tells Netanyahu Ordeal of Gaza Civilians 'Must End'

 French President Emmanuel Macron waits to welcome the president of Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan Region for a working lunch at the Elysee Palace in Paris, on April 14, 2025. (AFP)
French President Emmanuel Macron waits to welcome the president of Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan Region for a working lunch at the Elysee Palace in Paris, on April 14, 2025. (AFP)
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Macron Tells Netanyahu Ordeal of Gaza Civilians 'Must End'

 French President Emmanuel Macron waits to welcome the president of Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan Region for a working lunch at the Elysee Palace in Paris, on April 14, 2025. (AFP)
French President Emmanuel Macron waits to welcome the president of Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan Region for a working lunch at the Elysee Palace in Paris, on April 14, 2025. (AFP)

France's President Emmanuel Macron told Israel's leader during a phone call Tuesday that the suffering of Gazan civilians "must end" and that only a ceasefire in Gaza could free remaining Israeli hostages.

"The ordeal the civilian populations of Gaza are going through must end," Macron posted on X after the call with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

He also called for "opening all humanitarian aid crossings" into the besieged Palestinian territory.

The United Nation has warned that Gaza's humanitarian crisis is spiraling out of control, with no aid having entered the territory for weeks.

Palestinian group Hamas said Monday that Israel had offered a 45-day ceasefire if it releases half of the remaining hostages held in Gaza.

A Hamas official told AFP that Israel had also demanded that the Palestinian fighters disarm to secure an end to the Gaza war, but that this crossed a "red line".

Macron said he told Netanyahu "the release of all hostages" and the "demilitarization of Hamas" were still an absolute priority for France.

He said he hoped for "a ceasefire, the release of all hostages, humanitarian aid, and then finally reopening the prospect of a political two-state solution".

Macron irked Israel last week when he suggested Paris could recognize a Palestinian state during a United Nations conference in New York in June.

Israel insists such moves by foreign states are premature.

But Macron has said he hopes French recognition of a Palestinian state will encourage not just other nations to follow suit, but also countries who do not recognize Israel to do so.

The creation of a Palestinian state alongside Israel is widely seen internationally as the only realistic way to resolve the decades-old conflict. Israel captured Gaza, the West Bank and east Jerusalem in the 1967 Mideast war, and the Palestinians want all three for a future state. The last serious and substantive peace talks broke down after Netanyahu returned to power in 2009.

A number of European states have recently recognized a Palestinian state in what is largely a symbolic move aimed at reviving the peace process.