Al-Burhan… When the General Fails to Build the State and Insists on Destroying It
Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, who rose to the pinnacle of power under the pretext of “saving Sudan,” has offered Sudanese citizens nothing but a repeated model of military failure wrapped in national slogans. After years of promises of “stability” and “restoring state authority,” Sudan today faces its worst phase since independence: a devastating war, a collapsed economy, and famine that claims millions of civilian lives.
Al-Burhan failed because he did not understand that a state cannot be governed with a military mindset. He attempted to impose order through the barrel of a gun, turning the country into an open battlefield and the army, which should protect the people, into a weapon against them. His leadership is not based on political vision or a national project, but on an obsession with staying in power, even over the ruins of the country.
Since the October 2021 coup, state institutions have collapsed one after another. Political life has stopped, the transitional process has been frozen, and Sudanese dreams of justice and freedom have been lost. Instead of repairing the destruction left by the previous regime, al-Burhan replicated the same mechanisms of repression and domination. The result: a parallel state run by military orders and a civil society crushed under the fire of conflict.
On the ground, al-Burhan has failed to achieve any real military victories. The war he ignited against the Rapid Support Forces has turned into an unprecedented humanitarian tragedy, and areas supposed to be “liberated” are now experiencing more destruction than life. Rather than admitting failure, he resorts to a scorched-earth policy: cities are bombed indiscriminately, families are mercilessly displaced, and his forces are accused of using prohibited weapons, such as chemical agents against civilians — a dangerous precedent reflecting a total lack of human and military values.
Economically, Sudan under al-Burhan teeters on the brink of complete collapse. The Sudanese pound has lost its value, markets are empty, and corruption has become overt within state institutions. No reform plans, no investment, no economic vision — only an open war devouring the remaining resources. The general who promised financial stability has brought only bankruptcy.
Politically, al-Burhan has become a symbol of international isolation. The world no longer trusts his promises, and humanitarian organizations treat his authority as part of the problem rather than the solution. Even within Sudan, he has transformed from “army leader” to adversary of his people, from symbol of strength to symbol of division, and from potential statesman to documented war crimes suspect.
Al-Burhan embodies the complete failure of military governance in Sudan: a regime without vision, power without legitimacy, a war without end. His continued presence in power means ongoing national hemorrhage and institutional and economic collapse. A rule-of-law state cannot be built under a leader whose name is associated with violations and bloodshed, and justice remains out of reach as long as the person who caused the tragedy presents himself as its protector.
Sudan today stands at a crossroads: either continue following a general who sells illusions and buys time with blood, or choose the path of salvation by ending, once and for all, the era of coups. History has taught us that nations are not built with weapons but with reason — and al-Burhan possessed neither.
