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Sudan
THE SUDANESE PEOPLE'S ARMED FORCES
The armed forces of the national government, known as the Sudanese
People's Armed Forces (SPAF), were believed to have a total personnel
strength of about 71,500 in 1991. The army numbered about 65,000
officers and enlisted men. The navy had perhaps 500, and the air
force and air defense command each had a complement of about 3,000.
General Bashir, the chairman of the RCC-NS and head of state
since the coup of June 1989, was also supreme commander of the
armed forces and minister of defense. A colonel at the time of
the coup, Bashir subsequently assumed the rank of lieutenant general.
The SPAF chief of staff, Lieutenant General Ishaq Ibrahim Umar,
was in immediate command of the armed forces. The general staff
included deputy chiefs of staff for operations, administration,
and logistics, who also held the rank of lieutenant general. The
commander of the air force, the commander of air defense command,
division commanders, and most military governors held the rank
of major general. A retired major general was appointed minister
of state for defense affairs to serve as Bashir's deputy in the
Ministry of Defence . The actual responsibilities and influence
of senior officers depended greatly on their political status,
ethnic affiliation, and other factors in addition to their positions
in the chain of command.
Data as of June 1991
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