Sudan Army Reaches Deal to Return Premier Hamdok to Office

(Bloomberg) -- Sudan’s military has reached a deal to reinstate ousted Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok, about a month after staging a coup against the civilian wing of the African nation’s government, a mediator said.

Under the agreement between the army and Hamdok, the premier will name a new cabinet of technocrats and all political detainees will be released, mediator Mudawi Ibrahim said Sunday by telephone. Political parties aren’t involved in the pact and it’s not clear if ordinary Sudanese will accept it after weeks of turmoil and bloodshed.

Coup leader Lieutenant-General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan “has canceled his decision to oust the prime minister,” Ibrahim said. The army and Hamdok will revert to the terms of a constitutional agreement signed with civilian groups in 2019 after the fall of dictator Omar al-Bashir, he said.

An army spokesman didn’t respond to a request for comment. Hamdok has been under house arrest for much of the past month.

Sudan’s Oct. 25 coup undermined hopes that the country could make a smooth transition to democracy after three decades of Bashir’s rule and sparked international condemnation and mass protests. At least 40 people have been killed in a crackdown by security forces, according to a doctors group.

More protests are planned Sunday. The Forces of Freedom and Change, the political coalition that helped ensure Hamdok’s appointment in 2019, and the Sudanese Professionals Association, a driving force behind demonstrations, have both rejected any agreement that allows the military to retain significant power. 

An official announcement on the deal is due Sunday, Ibrahim said.

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