“Leave politics to civilians.” Lt Gen Manour (Munawer) Osman Naqd made that case at a military academy forum on March 15, 2022. Five months later he was retired. This week, SAF chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan reshaped the command and drew allied Islamist militias under direct army control — complete control, not reform, critics say.
The 2022 forum at the Nimeiri Military Academy recommended removing the SAF from day-to-day politics and pressing parties toward an agreed civilian path or elections. Naqd, then deputy chief of staff for administration, told attendees the SAF “does not seek to govern,” aligning himself with those recommendations.
On Aug. 25–26, 2022, Burhan restructured the high command, promoting and simultaneously retiring several senior officers — including Naqd.
Naqd later surfaced in clips and posts reiterating that stance; some attributions were disputed, but the 2022 remarks are on the record. The debate around him has since become a proxy for Sudan’s unresolved civil-military question.
Warnings ignored, disaster looming
In the week of Aug. 18, 2025, Burhan retired a slate of long-serving officers and appointed new service chiefs and deputies, keeping Joint Chiefs chair Gen Mohamed Othman al-Hussein while naming a new inspector general and air-force head. A separate decree placed pro-SAF auxiliaries — former Darfur rebels, Islamist brigades, civilian volunteers and tribal militias — under direct SAF command.
Two days later, security forces detained Maj Gen Abdel-Baqi “al-Bakrawi,” a former Armoured Corps deputy long linked to the failed September 2021 coup case. Local media said he was taken from his home in the early hours. Authorities have not announced a new plot, but the arrest underscored the purge accompanying the reshuffle.
Analysts say the moves consolidate Burhan’s grip over the security apparatus as the war with the Rapid Support Forces grinds on, and run counter to the “return-to-barracks” line endorsed at the 2022 forum.
Sudan’s conflict erupted in April 2023 over rival force integration plans. The humanitarian toll has become catastrophic, with front lines shifting between central regions and Darfur.
What’s new in this framing is not Naqd’s quote — it’s how this month’s command changes appear to confirm the direction he warned against: the SAF embedding itself deeper in political power rather than exiting it.
