Sudan’s April 2023 war began with an attack ordered from inside General al-Burhan’s army (SAF) by hard‑line Islamists who had regrouped after the 2019 uprising, veteran politician Mubarak al‑Fadil al‑Mahdi said in a wide‑ranging interview published Wednesday by Al‑Ain News.
Al‑Mahdi, head of the Umma Reform and Renewal Party, cited a televised admission by the 1st Infantry Division commander in El‑Bageir, who said his unit opened fire at dawn on 15 April 2023 against Rapid Support Forces (RSF) positions near Khartoum’s Sports City complex. Senior generals, including army chief Abdel Fattah al‑Burhan, “were asleep and caught off‑guard,” he noted.
“If the top command was unaware, who gave the order? It had to come from a parallel chain inside the institution—the Islamist movement,” he said, naming veteran National Congress Party figures Ali Karti, Ali Osman Taha and Osama Abdullah as key plotters.
Islamist reach inside the military
Al‑Mahdi claimed the Bashir‑era Islamist project placed some 30,000 officers and specialists in the SAF, a legacy that survived the revolution and, he believes, “was central to sparking the war.” He accused Al‑Burhan of sheltering the network and allowing it to hold a Shura Council meeting in Atbara shortly before the conflict erupted.
Road map for reform
The opposition leader called for a wholesale restructuring of the SAF—disbanding partisan cells, relocating barracks outside greater Khartoum, and rebuilding a truly national force drawn proportionally from all regions.
“Sudan cannot rise without a professional, neutral army that defends democracy instead of toppling it,” he said.
Al‑Mahdi urged the international community to recognise Islamist interference before endorsing any new political settlement, warning that “those who lit the fuse are ready to hijack the country again at gunpoint.”
