Sudan announces the formation of the new government

The ruling sovereign council in Sudan announced the formation of a new government on Monday that includes ministers from the factions that signed the peace agreement last October.

Current Prime Minister Abdullah Hamdok dissolved the government to make room for a new, more inclusive team.

It is expected that the new government will include seven ministers from the factions and two ministers from the army, while the rest belong to the Alliance of the Forces of Freedom and Change, which plays a major role in Sudanese politics after he led the protests against the ousted President Omar al-Bashir until his removal in April 2019.

Last week, three representatives of the factions were appointed to the ruling Sovereignty Council, a governing body with a civilian majority led by Lieutenant General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, who assumed his duties months after Bashir was ousted.

The council said in a statement published by Sudan News Agency on Sunday, the Council of Partners agrees to announce the government Monday, which the Prime Minister will announce after the current government is dissolved, except for the Ministry of Education, which is still conducting consultations on it.

The statement added that the Council decided to hold a session Tuesday, to review the government's program for everyone to agree on and expect it by all parties to be committed by the new government.

The dissolved Sudanese government signed a peace agreement last year in Juba with a large number of factions that fought in Darfur.

Darfur, a region larger than France, witnessed a conflict that erupted in 2003, resulting in 300,000 people being killed and 2.5 million others displaced, according to the United Nations.

The new government comes at a time when the country is facing many economic challenges, as well as renewed bloody tribal clashes in Darfur, in the west of the country, and tensions with neighboring Ethiopia in the east of the country.

Sudan suffers an economic crisis after decades of US sanctions.

Inflation rates have exceeded 260%, the value of the local currency has declined, while the external debt of Khartoum is estimated at 60 billion US dollars.

The deteriorating economic situation prompted the Sudanese to protest in recent weeks in several parts of the country, including the capital.

The past weeks renewed bloody tribal clashes, which left 250 dead, two weeks after the end of the mission of the United Nations and African Union peacekeeping force in Darfur, after it had been deployed in the region for 13 years.