Sudan strongman is seen as an insider with powerful allies
CAIRO (AP) The general leading Sudans coup has vowed to usher the country to an elected government. But Abdel-Fattah Burhan has powerful allies, including Gulf nations and a feared Sudanese paramilitary commander, and he appears intent on keeping the military firmly in control.
Burhan first gained prominence in 2019, when he and other top generals toppled Omar al-Bashir, under pressure from mass demonstrations against the autocrats 30-year rule.
He remained in charge for several months, until international pressure forced the military to reach a power-sharing deal with the protesters. That established a joint civilian-military Sovereign Council headed by Burhan that was supposed to rule Sudan until elections, set for 2023.
Burhans record was relatively clean and he was not indicted by The International Criminal Court like al-Bashir and others for crimes against humanity during the Darfur conflict of the early 2000s. He was a rare non-Islamist among the top generals during al-Bashirs military-Islamist regime. That helped Sudan emerge from the international pariah status it had under al-Bashir.
https://apnews.com/article/sudan-who-is-abdel-fattah-burhan-3f2d4d660fabf1b526f09f04808af7c8