Anti-government protests in Sudan have built since the end of last year, with furious demonstrators calling for President Omar al-Bashir to step down. Sharply rising food prices and economic mismanagement have driven the recent uprisings against al-Bashir, who has been in power since 1989. Last weekend, a sit-in protest was organized in the capital city of Khartoum. It was met by attacks from some security forces—not the national army—which reportedly killed more than eight demonstrators. Thousands remained in place to continue the protest, and earlier today, Sudan’s defense minister announced that al-Bashir had been detained and that a military council would take over for a transitional period. Protest organizers are now calling on their supporters to remain in the streets until power is handed over to a civilian government.
We want to hear what you think about this article. Submit a letter to the editor or write to letters@theatlantic.com.
-
The 22-year-old Alaa Salah stands on a car leading chants during a protest demanding that Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir step down in Khartoum, Sudan, on April 8, 2019, in this still image taken from a social-media video obtained on April 9. #
Lana H. Haroun via Reuters -
Sudanese protesters run for cover from tear-gas canisters fired by police outside the military headquarters in Khartoum on April 6, 2019. #
AFP / Getty -
Sudanese protesters shout slogans in front of the military headquarters in Khartoum on April 6, 2019. #
AFP / Getty -
A Sudanese protester shows bullet cartridges as others gather in front of security forces during a demonstration near the military headquarters in Khartoum on April 8, 2019. #
AFP / Getty -
Sudanese protesters rally in front of the military headquarters in Khartoum on April 8, 2019. The writing on the placard reads in Arabic: "Leave o Bashir. Thirty years and you've destroyed the country and its people." Sudan's army deployed around its Khartoum headquarters Monday as thousands of protesters urging the military to join calls for al-Bashir's resignation defied tear gas to demonstrate for a third day, witnesses said. #
AFP / Getty -
Sudanese men and soldiers gather atop a military vehicle underneath a pedestrian crossing during a demonstration in Khartoum on April 9, 2019. #
AFP / Getty -
Sudanese protesters salute an armored military vehicle as they gather during a demonstration in Khartoum on April 9, 2019. #
- / AFP / Getty -
Protesters rally at a demonstration near the military headquarters in Khartoum on April 9, 2019. #
Associated Press -
A Sudanese woman with her face painted with "Just fall, that's all" in Arabic flashes the victory gesture during an anti-government demonstration in Khartoum on April 9, 2019. #
AFP / Getty -
Sudanese protesters gather during a demonstration in Khartoum on April 9, 2019. #
AFP / Getty -
On April 10, 2019, Sudanese demonstrators unfurl a giant national flag as they rally in front of the military headquarters in Khartoum. #
AFP / Getty -
Sudanese demonstrators chant slogans during a rally in Khartoum on April 10, 2019. #
AFP / Getty -
Alaa Salah, a Sudanese woman propelled to internet fame earlier in the week after clips went viral of her leading powerful protest chants against President Omar al-Bashir, addresses protesters in Khartoum on April 10, 2019. Dubbed "Kandaka," or "Nubian queen," online, she has become a symbol of the protests, which she says have traditionally had a female backbone in Sudan. #
AFP / Getty -
Alaa Salah flashes the victory gesture as she poses for a picture during a demonstration in Khartoum on April 10, 2019. #
AFP / Getty -
Sudanese protesters demanding the resignation of Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir stage a demonstration in Khartoum on April 10, 2019. #
Anadolu Agency / Getty -
Demonstrators chant slogans as they gather at night during a protest in front of the military headquarters in Khartoum on April 10, 2019. #
AFP / Getty -
Demonstrators cheer as they attend a protest rally demanding that President Omar al-Bashir step down outside the defense ministry in Khartoum on April 11, 2019. #
Reuters -
A Sudanese anti-regime protester kisses a soldier on the head during protests in Khartoum on April 11, 2019. #
AFP / Getty -
Sudanese people chant slogans on April 11, 2019, as massive crowds of jubilant Sudanese people thronged squares and streets in central Khartoum ahead of an "important announcement" by the army, an Agence France-Presse photographer witnessed. People hugged one another, waved Sudanese flags, and exchanged sweets as they awaited the announcement. #
AFP / Getty -
Sudanese Defense Minister Awad Mohamed Ahmed Ibn Auf makes an announcement in Sudan in this still image taken from a video on April 11, 2019. The announcement declared that President Omar al-Bashir had been detained "in a safe place" and that a military council would run the country for a two-year transitional period. #
Sudan TV / Reuters TV -
A Sudanese demonstrator chants slogans as protesters gather in a street in central Khartoum on April 11, 2019, immediately after one of Africa's longest-serving presidents was toppled by the army. Organizers of the protests for the ouster of President Omar al-Bashir rejected the toppling as a "coup conducted by the regime," and vowed to keep up their campaign. #
Ahmed Mustafa / AFP / Getty -
Sudanese demonstrators gather in a street in central Khartoum on April 11, 2019, after the removal of of President Omar al-Bashir. #
Ashraf Shazly / AFP / Getty -
Sudanese demonstrators lift the national flag onto a building in Khartoum after Sudanese Defense Minister Awad Mohamed Ahmed Ibn Auf said that President Omar al-Bashir had been detained on April 11, 2019. #
Stringer / Reuters -
Sudanese demonstrators gather in central Khartoum on April 11, 2019, after one of Africa's longest-serving presidents was toppled by the army. Opposition groups have called on protesters to remain in the streets until power is handed over to a civilian government that reflects the will of the revolution. #
Ahmed Mustafa / AFP / Getty
