Sudanese army–Islamist tensions surface amid media speculation
Media speculation in Sudan has surged over rumours that the military foiled a coup attempt orchestrated by Islamist allies, according to The Arab Weekly plus agencies on August 22nd.
Even though the rumours could not be fully verified, they made tensions between the Sudanese military and Islamists visible to the public for the first time. Many media outlets in the country reported of arrests made.
The Sudan Tribune reported that on August 19th, Sudanese security forces arrested Major General Abdel Baqi Bakrawi, who is “a senior general recently forced into retirement” after being accused of leading a separate failed coup attempt in September 2021.
Bakrawi was undergoing a military trial for the alleged attempt, however proceedings were paused after war between the military and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces broke out in April 2023.
Reports emerged that another officer, Khalif Ahmed Al-Mustafa was detained by security forces. Separate reports spoke on the arrest of the chairman of the once-ruling National Congress Party – lead by former Dictator Omar al-Bashir – Ahmed Haroun.
Such media speculation over a potential coup attempt and the subsequent arrests arose immediately after Sudanese military chief, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, placed all allied militias, including Islamist groups, under direct military command.
On the surface, the structural reshuffle appears to be a simple strategic manoeuvre to centralise power and streamline the chain of command.
However, as the decision was made shortly following Burhan’s meeting with US senior advisor for Africa, Massad Boulos, in Switzerland, some believe that it illustrates a bid to boost international legitimacy.
The need to clean the military’s image may be particularly apparent to Burhan after reports accused it of operating ‘executing chambers’ where people are being ‘tortured to death.’
Sudanese scholar, Mekki El-Shibly, stated that “the Americans and their European partners have sent an unequivocal message: an Islamist return to power is unacceptable”.
He continued in saying that Burhan’s move to significantly curtail the Islamists’ autonomy by placing them under his command opened “the widest rift yet between the military leadership and the Islamists who bet on the war to reclaim their lost influence.”
Western diplomatic and intelligence reports have raised serious alarm over the growing influence of Islamist militants within the Sudanese military. This alarm spiked after Reuters reported on July 25th that the Islamist movement that was toppled with Omar al-Bashir’s government in 2019 sees its alliance with the military as an opportunity for a major political comeback.
Ahmed Haroun told the agency that the military could viably remain in politics after the war, and that “elections could provide a route back to power for his party and the Islamist movement connected to it.”
For Shibly, Burhan’s alleged crackdown on prominent Islamist figures “presents a rare window of opportunity” by stripping the Islamists of the political leverage “they have long exploited.”
The Arab Weekly plus agencies, The Sudan Tribune, Maghrebi.org, Reuters
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