SUDAN NEWS ALERT: AP - Sudan’s PM reshuffles Cabinet to add rebel ministers

8/2/2021: AP - Sudan’s PM reshuffles Cabinet to add rebel ministers, by Samy Magdy

 AP report that Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok announced a Cabinet reshuffle to add rebel ministers as part the Juba peace deal as a “political consensus” aimed at “protecting this country from collapsing.”

Hamdok did not name an education minister, saying consultations are ongoing. However, the appointment of Mariam al-Mahdi and Jibril Ibrahim as foreign and finance ministers “could create some anxiety within the international community, given their Islamist-leaning background” as the transitional government seeks better ties with the US, Israel and the West. 

Cameron Hudson, a senior fellow with the Atlantic Council think tank and a former U.S. diplomat, said the two appointments are a “very risky and somewhat perplexing move,” because they occupy the two most important Cabinet positions that donors must have faith in.