Sudan’s military leader Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, who also doubles as the Head of the Transitional Sovereign Council, issued a decree on Friday, removing Al-Hadi Idris from his position as a member of the Council.
The decree did not give a specific reason for Idriss Idris, who leads the Sudan Liberation Movement-Transitional Council (SLM-TS), an armed group from the Darfur region. Idris also serves as the head of the Sudanese Revolutionary Front, a coalition of armed groups.
Idriss, Malik Agar of the SPLM-N, and Al-Tahir Hajer of the GSLF joined the Sovereign Council on February 4, 2021, as part of the Juba Peace Agreement reached in October 2020.
In his decree, General al-Burhan additionally asked the SLM-TC to nominate a replacement for the removed govenrment official.
Following the outbreak of conflict in April, Idris left Khartoum and travelled abroad in July, accompanied by several political allies, the leaders of the Forces for Freedom and Change who campaign agianst the ongoing war Subsequently, he did not rejoin al-Burhan in Port Sudan.
Idriss could not be reached to comment on his relieve from the Transitional Sovereign Council.
Fighting between the army and the paramilitary RSF erupted on April 15 over tensions linked to a planned transition to civilian rule. Thousands have died and more than 5.7 million are displaced, inside and outside the country. Around 25 million are now relying on some form of humanitarian aid.
Representatives from the warring parties are now meeting in Saudi Arabia for renewed peace talks, steered by Saudi and the United States, and joined by the East African regional bloc, IGAD.