The former Sudanese government’s Foreign Minister, Mariam al-Mahdi, accused Egypt and Israel of “supporting” what she described as the recent “military coup” in her country.
This came during her hosting, on Monday, in a webinar organized by the American “Atlantic Council” Center for Studies, regarding the developments of the Sudanese crisis.
In response to a question about the external support received by the actions of the army chief, Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, on October 25, she said that “the majority of countries in the world expressed their rejection of the coup.”
She added, “Even countries that wanted to support the coup, such as Egypt for example, could not do so, they just remained silent.”
Mariam al-Mahdi added: “At a later stage, driven by the strong American position during the strategic dialogue between Cairo and Washington, Egypt was forced to announce, regret, or condemn the coup.”
In its first comment hours after Al-Burhan’s decisions on October 25, Egypt called in a statement by its Foreign Ministry on all Sudanese parties to exercise restraint and to give priority to the higher interest and national consensus.
A few days later, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry responded, in a press conference in Washington, to a reporter’s question about his country’s support for the proof, saying: “We do not support one team at the expense of another in Sudan, and we do not interfere in the affairs of others.”
Cairo, in a statement by its Foreign Ministry, welcomed the signing of the political agreement between Al-Burhan and Sudanese Prime Minister Abdullah Hamdok , on Sunday, praising “the wisdom and responsibility shown by the Sudanese parties in reaching a consensus on the success of the transitional period.”
Regarding the Israeli position on Al-Burhan’s actions, Al-Mahdi said, “The Sudanese government was aware of Israel’s role in supporting the military coup , although it did not appear in the forefront of the events.”
And considering that “the American envoy to the Horn of Africa, Jeffrey Feltman , visited Tel Aviv for this purpose.”
Officially, the Tel Aviv government has remained silent about the developments in Sudan, but the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation reported a visit by an Israeli delegation to Khartoum earlier this month, during which he met with Al-Burhan, and another by Muhammad Hamdan Dagalo “Hemetti”, Vice-President of the Transitional Sovereign Council of Israel, weeks before Al-Burhan’s procedures.
While there was no official Sudanese confirmation or denial, either for the visit of the Israeli delegation or for the alleged visit of Hemetti.
In a related context, Mariam al-Mahdi considered that the new agreement signed by Al-Burhan and Hamdok “represents a setback and we cannot accept it, and it cannot be considered a new beginning because we lack confidence in the military component, especially as it is in the interest of the coup, in addition to that it does not meet the aspirations of the youth in Sudan nor their sacrifices of the revolution.”
She added: “Our clear position, as the Forces of Freedom and Change, is to reject the new agreement and adhere to the demands of the street.”
Al-Mahdi added: “We submitted our resignations as ministers of the Forces of Freedom and Change in the presence of Hamdok, in appreciation of him,” noting that the latter “did not communicate with the ministers of the Forces of Freedom and Change before signing the agreement with Al-Burhan.”
Al-Mahdi, along with 11 ministers who were dismissed by Al-Burhan, announced on Monday, submitting their written resignations to Hamdok; Rejection of the new political agreement.
And on Sunday, Al-Burhan and Hamdok signed a political agreement with the aim of ending a crisis that Sudan has been going through for about a month, in light of intense international pressure and continuous internal demonstrations calling for full civilian rule and an end to the partnership in power with the army.
The Forces for Freedom and Change considered that the political agreement between Burhan Hamdok “does not meet the aspirations of the people and stands against the movement in resisting the October 25 coup in Sudan ,” according to the statement.
Since last October 25, Sudan has been experiencing a severe crisis , as Al-Burhan declared a state of emergency, dissolved the Sovereignty Councils and transitional ministers, and dismissed the governors, after the arrest of party leaders, ministers, and officials, which sparked continuous protests that reject these measures as a “military coup”.
Prior to Al-Burhan’s latest procedures, Sudan has been experiencing since August 21, 2019, a 53-month transitional period that ends with holding elections in early 2024, during which power is shared by the army, civil forces, and armed movements that signed a peace agreement with the government in 2020.
