The African Union has welcomed the appointment of a civilian prime minister in Sudan, where the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces have been locked in a deadly war since 2023, which derailed the country’s transition to democracy.

The Chairman of Sudan’s Sovereign Council, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, appointed former UN official Kamil El-Tayib Idris as prime minister on Monday. Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, described Idris' appointment as a step towards "inclusive governance".

He also expressed hope that it will contribute meaningfully to ongoing efforts to restore constitutional order and democratic governance in Sudan.

The African Union has been one of the organisations working to ensure an end to the war in Sudan through mediation efforts but had warned against undue external interference.

First in three years

"Youssouf urges all Sudanese stakeholders to redouble their efforts toward a peaceful, civilian-led, and inclusive transition that reflects the aspirations of the Sudanese people, saying that the Commission remains ready to support Sudan in this regard, in collaboration with regional and international partners," the African Union Commission said in a statement on Tuesday.

He also reiterated the African Union's "firm commitment to the unity, sovereignty, and stability of Sudan and to the pursuit of a durable political solution that secures peace, development, and democratic governance for all Sudanese."

The Sudan news agency SUNA reported that the appointment of Kamil El-Tayib Idris as prime minister was announced in a decree issued by General Burhan, who is also the army chief. Idris is a former UN official and an ex-presidential candidate.

The appointment installs a prime minister for the first time since January 2022, when the then-PM Abdalla Hamdok resigned amid a political deadlock that turned into a civil war a year later.

Human cost of war

Idris replaces career diplomat Dafallah al-Haj, who was appointed acting prime minister last month by Burhan. Burhan also issued another decree appointing two women, Salma Al-Mubarak and Nawara Abu Mohamed Tahir, to the Sovereign Council, raising the council's membership to nine.

Since April 2023, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary group has been battling the army for control of Sudan, resulting in thousands of deaths and creating one of the world's worst humanitarian crises.

The latest appointments come as the army makes significant gains in the ongoing war, recapturing the capital Khartoum and other key strategic areas in the country.

More than 20,000 people have been killed and 15 million displaced since the conflict broke out, according to the UN and local authorities.