The Sudan Founding Alliance has rejected the African Union Commission’s endorsement of a new internal Sudanese dialogue, accusing the continental body of siding with General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and helping legitimise Islamist-backed military rule.
In an official statement issued from Nyala on Tuesday, TASIS said the commission’s position represented a clear departure from the African Union’s declared roadmap for ending Sudan’s war and contradicted its longstanding opposition to unconstitutional changes of government.
The statement came after the African Union Commission welcomed the launch of what it described as a Sudanese-led dialogue supervised by an independent committee of national elders.
The commission said the initiative complemented regional and international mediation conducted through the Quintet mechanism, which includes the African Union, United Nations, European Union, IGAD and Arab League.
TASIS rejected that characterisation, saying the proposed process could not be considered independent because Burhan initiated it, appointed its committee, selected its agenda and venue and would control its eventual outcome.
The alliance described the commission’s endorsement as direct support for the SAF commander and accused it of attempting to provide political legitimacy to an authority dominated by Sudan’s Islamist movement.
TASIS said Burhan and the Islamist forces supporting him were responsible for the October 2021 military takeover and the subsequent destruction of Sudan’s civilian transition.
It accused the SAF leadership of igniting the current war, rejecting successive peace initiatives and adopting continued military action as a strategy for retaining power.
The alliance also questioned the timing of the AU Commission’s announcement, noting that the Quintet was separately attempting to bring Sudanese political and civil forces together to prepare a dialogue that would not be controlled by either party to the conflict.
According to TASIS, the commission’s endorsement risks undermining those efforts and creating a competing political track intended to legitimise the Port Sudan authority rather than end the fighting.
The alliance said a credible Sudanese political process must begin with steps to halt the war, address the humanitarian emergency and establish a genuinely inclusive national dialogue.
It also reiterated that the former ruling National Congress Party, the Islamist movement and their political fronts should be excluded from any future transition.
TASIS spokesman Ahmed Tugud Lisan said the alliance categorically rejected the commission’s position, describing it as incompatible with the African Union’s founding principles and its stated commitment to democracy.
The statement adds TASIS’s official voice to mounting opposition to the initiative from Sudanese political and civil groups, which argue that a process organised under Burhan’s authority would preserve military rule while presenting it as a nationally owned dialogue.
