The Transitional Military Council (TMC) was the

military junta A military junta () is a system of government led by a committee of military leaders. The term ''Junta (governing body), junta'' means "meeting" or "committee" and originated in the Junta (Peninsular War), national and local junta organized by t ...

governing

Sudan Sudan, officially the Republic of the Sudan, is a country in Northeast Africa. It borders the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west, Libya to the northwest, Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the east, Eritrea and Ethiopi ...

that was established on 11 April 2019, after the 2019 Sudanese coup d'état that took place during the Sudanese Revolution, and was formally headed by

Abdel Fattah al-Burhan Abdel Fattah al-Burhan Abdelrahman al-Burhan (; born 11 July 1960) is a Sudanese army general who has been the ''de facto'' List of heads of state of Sudan, leader of Sudan since 2019. Following the Sudanese revolution, Sudanese Revolution in Ap ...

, Inspector of the

Armed Forces A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a ...

, after Ahmed Awad Ibn Auf resigned as leader one day following the coup. The TMC and the Forces of Freedom and Change alliance (FFC) signed a political agreement on 17 July. On 4 August, a constitutional declaration, which followed up on the 17 July agreement, was completed. The agreements provided for the transfer of power to a new body known as the Sovereignty Council and to other transitional state bodies.

Structure and members

Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was norma ...

Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo ("Hemetti") was formally the deputy leader but seen as the ''de facto'' real leader. On 21 August 2019, the Sovereignty Council was established, officially dissolving the TMC and transferring power to the new council.

Leadership

Hemetti, formally the deputy leader of the Council, is the commander of the

Rapid Support Forces The Rapid Support Forces (RSF; ) is a paramilitary force formerly operated by the government of Sudan. The RSF grew out of, and is primarily composed of, the Janjaweed militias which previously fought on behalf of the Sudanese government. RSF ...

, and as such, is seen by ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'' as holding more real power in the Council than al-Burhan. The RSF is the immediate successor organisation to the

Janjaweed The Janjaweed () are an Sudanese Arabs, Arab nomad militia group operating in the Sahel, Sahel region, specifically in Sudan, particularly in Darfur and eastern Chad. They have also been speculated to be active in Yemen. According to the United ...

militia. The Council's media spokesman is Major General Shams Ad-din Shanto. Some of the Council's other known members were

General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

Galaledin Alsheikh, a former deputy director of security, Lieutenant General Al-Tayeb Babakr Ali Fadeel, who led the public order police, and Lieutenant General Omar Zain al-Abidin served as the leader of the junta's "political committee." All three tendered their resignations on 24 April. General Gamal Omar of the TMC commented publicly on the 30 June 2019 mass demonstrations, attributing the responsibility for ten deaths to the protest organisers.

3 June 2019 Khartoum massacre

On 3 June 2019, the TMC's security forces, including the

(RSF) led by TMC deputy leader Hemeti, killed about 100 civilians and injured hundreds of others in the Khartoum massacre. The Sudanese Professionals Association (SPA) described the TMC leaders as being "deep to their knees in the blood of the innocent in Darfur, Nuba Mountains and Blue Nile, in addition to Khartoum and other cities and towns" and organised a 3-day

general strike A general strike is a strike action in which participants cease all economic activity, such as working, to strengthen the bargaining position of a trade union or achieve a common social or political goal. They are organised by large coalitions ...

Negotiations and power transfer

April–June negotiations with civil society

Major General Shanto, in a press conference on 14 April, stated that the Council was inviting the opposition and protestors to name a civilian government (except for the Ministries of Defense and Interior) and a

prime minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

to lead it, which the junta would then "implement". On 12 June, the Forces of Freedom and Change (FFC) alliance prepared a list of eight civilian members for a 15-member transitional governmental council to replace the TMC, including three women, in addition to Abdalla Hamdok, who was Deputy Executive Secretary of the

United Nations Economic Commission for Africa The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA or ECA; , CEA) was established in 1958 by the United Nations Economic and Social Council to encourage economic cooperation among its member states (the nations of the Africa, African contin ...

from 2011 to October 2018, as prime minister.

Planned power transfer to Sovereignty Council

On 5 July 2019, the TMC and the FFC agreed on a Sudanese transition to democracy deal, including an 11-member sovereign council with five military members, five civilian members, and one civilian chosen by consensus; a civilian cabinet; a legislative council; an investigation into the Khartoum massacre and related events; and a legal team to formalise the plan. The new Sovereignty Council would be led by a military person for 21 months and by a civilian for 18 months. On 7 July, al-Burhan, head of the TMC, stated on television that in the context of the transition deal, the TMC would be dissolved. On 4 August, the TMC, represented by Hemetti, and the FFC, represented by Ahmed Rabee, signed the Draft Constitutional Declaration, which states 70 legal articles defining the transfer of power from the TMC to the Sovereignty Council and other transitional state bodies. The signing of the Draft Constitutional Declaration received wide international attention.

Attempted anti-TMC coups d'état

The TMC claimed several times during 2019 that a coup d'état attempt had been foiled and that those responsible had been arrested. , the TMC had not named the alleged coup plotters of the first four coup attempts. On 12 July, Gamal Omar of the TMC reported the fourth coup attempt, stating that twelve army and National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS) officers had attempted a coup d'état against the TMC, without naming the alleged conspirators. On 25 July, the TMC stated that a combined military-Islamist coup attempt had occurred. The TMC stated that it had arrested the head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Lieutenant-General Hashim Abdel Muttalab Ahmed; Major-General Nasr al-Din Abdel Fattah; former Foreign Minister, Ali Ahmed Karti; the commander of the Central District, Major-General Bahar Ahmed; former Minister of Minerals, Kamal Abdel Latif; and Secretary-General of "the Islamic Movement", Zubair Ahmed al-Hassan.

References

{{Sudan topics Sudanese revolution 2019 establishments in Sudan Military history of Sudan Provisional governments