Following two years of a deadly war, Sudan's army chief and de facto leader, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, chose veteran UN official Kamil Idris as the country's new prime minister on Monday. 

Who is Kamil Idris?

Idris, a career diplomat and former presidential contender, formerly served as director general of the UN World Intellectual Property Organization and as Sudan's permanent representative to the United Nations. 

"The chairman of the sovereignty council issued a constitutional decree appointing Kamil El-Tayeb Idris Abdelhafiz as prime minister," a statement from Sudan's ruling Transitional Sovereignty Council said. 

In 2010, Idris campaigned for president against Omar al-Bashir, who was overthrown in April 2019. 

Ongoing war

Since April 2023, Sudan's conflict has matched al-Burhan's army forces against the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces led by his former deputy, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo.

The violence has killed tens of thousands, displaced 13 million people, and resulted in what the United Nations calls the world's biggest humanitarian disaster.

Idris succeeds experienced diplomat Dafallah al-Haj Ali, who was chosen by al-Burhan at the end of April and lasted less than three weeks as interim prime minister.

Al-Burhan has previously stated that he would establish a technocratic wartime administration to "complete what remains of our military objectives, which is liberating Sudan from these rebels."

Late last month, the Sudan war escalated as the RSF declared the conflict had entered a "new phase", threatening to launch what they called "painful strikes" against the Sudanese army.