Al-Atta has served in the military for more than 40 years
General Al-Atta steps up as Sudan’s army chief, signalling strategic shift
The move is the most significant personnel shift since the war began three years ago, and could lead to shifts in strategy as a new front opens in the war in the southeastern Blue Nile state.
Thursday 02/04/2026
Al-Atta has served in the military for more than 40 years
KHARTOUM – Sudan has appointed General Yassir al-Atta, a member of the country’s Sovereign Council and assistant to the commander-in-chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, chief of staff of the country’s Armed Forces, a military spokesman said on Thursday.
The move is the most significant personnel shift since the Sudanese army’s war with the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) three years ago, and could lead to shifts in strategy as a new front opens in the war in the southeastern Blue Nile state.
Al-Atta, who has served in the military for more than 40 years, said last year that Sudan will “fight anyone who seeks to establish a parallel government.”
“To those who say they will form a parallel government, we will fight them on every inch of Sudanese land,” Al-Atta said at the time.
“We will teach the enemy (referring to the RSF) and the conspiratorial countries lessons in patriotism. The Sudanese people have now become the army of the Sudanese nation,” he added.
Al-Atta takes over the role of chief of staff from career soldier Othman al-Hussein, giving him less of a political role but tighter control of the armed forces.