Sudan’s former Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok told the BBC that he partly blamed the international community for the country’s devastating war that is now stretching into its 10th month.
Mr Hamdok spoke to the BBC’s HARDTalk programme about the conflict between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
He expressed frustration at the international community which he said failed to help bring peace and stability to Sudan after long-time President Omar al-Bashir was ousted in 2019.
Mr Hamdok first became prime minister in the aftermath of Bashir’s exit but finally left power, after a second brief stint, in 2022 amid protests and a dispute with the military.
“We fought such a great revolution in Sudan and it took [the West] more than a year to lift sanctions,” he said.
He argued that the East African country should have been “integrated” into the global community sooner.
“I think the world needed to have rewarded that great change,” he said.
Mr Hamdok solemnly added that Sudan’s story is one of “neglect”, adding that he has been trying to broker talks with the warring factions.
He said he controversially met RSF leader Gen Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo at the beginning of the year.
He added that he is yet to meet the head of Sudan’s army, Gen Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, but said there are plans in the works to do so.
The former prime minister has faced a backlash for engaging with the two leaders, but he emphasised that his goal was to “end the role of the military in the politics of Sudan” through talks.
