Sudan’s prime minister appointed new defence and interior ministers on Tuesday, state media reported, the first step in forming a new non-partisan cabinet announced last week.

Prime Minister Kamal Idris named Lieutenant General Hassan Daoud Kabroun as defence minister and Lieutenant General Babiker Samra Mustafa as interior minister, the official news agency SUNA said.

The move is the first in the formation of a planned 22-minister government of independent technocrats, which Idris said on June 19 would be appointed gradually.

The appointment of security chiefs, however, is a critical step in a country where such posts have traditionally been the exclusive prerogative of the military leadership, not the civilian prime minister.

Kabroun, a graduate of Sudan’s military college, previously served as the director of financial and accounting affairs for the army’s general command. He is from the South Kordofan state and was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant General in May 2022.

The new interior minister, Babikir Samra, who is from the Red Sea state, has held several senior police positions since starting his career in 1980, including director of criminal investigations and head of administrative and planning affairs, according to SUNA.