Chairman of Sudan’s Sovereign Council and army chief, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, has appointed former United Nations official Kamil El-Tayib Idris as the country’s new prime minister.

The appointment, announced Monday via state media SUNA, marks Sudan’s first formal prime minister since January 2022, when Abdalla Hamdok resigned amid political turmoil that later escalated into a full-blown civil war.

Idris, a seasoned international figure and former presidential candidate, assumes the role at a time when Sudan is grappling with severe political instability and a humanitarian crisis. His appointment follows the short-lived tenure of acting Prime Minister Dafallah al-Haj, a career diplomat, named only last month.

In a separate decree, Burhan also appointed two women — Salma Al-Mubarak and Nawara Abu Mohamed Tahir — to the Sovereign Council, increasing its membership to nine and bringing female representation back into the transitional leadership body.

Sudan has been embroiled in conflict since April 2023, with the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) locked in a brutal power struggle. The war has left over 20,000 people dead and displaced around 15 million, according to UN estimates. Independent research suggests the actual death toll could be as high as 130,000.