General Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, commander of the Sudanese Armed Forces and head of the Transitional Sovereign Council (TSC), appointed Dafallah Al-Haj Ali as interim Prime Minister and Minister of Cabinet Affairs on Wednesday, according to an official statement from the country’s ruling body.
At the same time, veteran diplomat Omer Mohamed Ahmed Siddiq was named Minister of Foreign Affairs. Siddiq joined Sudan’s diplomatic corps in 1980 and has previously served as ambassador to Germany and the United Kingdom.
The office of Prime Minister had remained vacant since the resignation of Abdalla Hamdok in January 2022, a year after Al-Burhan’s military coup in October 2021. Hamdok briefly returned to office under a transitional agreement before stepping down again, warning of a “dangerous turning point” for the country.
Since then, Osman Hussein had been serving in an acting capacity under military oversight, with limited powers. In February, Al-Burhan announced plans to form a new transitional government composed of figures aligned with the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF).
These appointments come amid an ongoing civil war. Since April 15, 2023, the SAF has been locked in a brutal conflict with the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). The war has killed tens of thousands, displaced over 15 million people, and triggered a severe humanitarian crisis. According to the UN, the health system is collapsing and famine looms. Estimated death tolls range from 30,000 to 150,000.