When Omar al-Bashir, who had ruled Sudan for 30 years, was ousted by a popular revolution in April 2019, the region and the whole world expected that the country was charting a new path.
The foreign debt of $5 billion was written off and Sudan was removed from the United States list of countries sponsoring terrorism.
But that was short-lived as the al-Bashir elements fought back. They managed to stage a coup in October last year led by Gen Abdel-Fattah al-Burhan — the leader of the military wing of the transitional government that included civilians.
Currently, the military junta led by Gen al-Burhan — the de facto leader of Sudan — is strongly resisting efforts by the United Nations (UN), African Union (AU), and the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (Igad) to install a civilian transitional government.
Gen Al-Burhan has maintained that the military will only hand over power after elections next year, which remain uncertain with current security and economic challenges. He threatened to expel a UN envoy who was trying to craft a political agreement with the African Union to establish a transitional government.
Sudan’s top army general Abdel Fattah al-Burhan holds a press conference at the General Command of the Armed Forces in Khartoum on October 26, 2021.
While the AU has maintained that the change of government through the military is unacceptable — it has suspended Guinea, Chad, and Mali on that basis — analysts are pointing out double standards because the continental body appears to be looking the other way when it comes to Sudan.
The military junta in Sudan continues to resist demands for a transitional civilian government as it moves to consolidate power, and as anti-coup protests continue to grow.
Western diplomats led by the United States have been insisting that the military must allow the formation of a credible civilian transitional government that will guide the country following the coup last October.
Instead, Gen al-Burhan is seeking to craft his own transitional government that would strengthen the army’s control, with the help of two main political parties — the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) and the Umma Party, led by veteran politician Sadique al-Mahdi.
In March, the Biden administration imposed sanctions on Sudan’s Central Reserve Police for deploying violence against civilian protestors that have demanded the return of civilian rule. Since the military wing staged the coup last October, more than 90 people have been killed and thousands injured in the protests.
As the military tightens its hold on power with the intention of negating the power-sharing arrangement that was crafted after the overthrow of al-Bashir in April 2019, fresh protests erupted on April 6, where thousands went to the streets in Khartoum, Omdurman, Qadarif and Port Sudan.
The fresh protests were called by the Sudanese Professionals’ Association and the Resistance Committees, which maintain that they will continue until the military gives in to demands for a civilian government.
Sudan’s ex-president Omar al-Bashir appears in court in the capital Khartoum to face charges of illegal acquisition and use of foreign funds on August 31, 2019.
According to the leader of the Resistance Committees, Mr Taha Awad, the protests will continue until the military returns to the barracks and the generals who engineered the coup are prosecuted by revolutionary courts.
The military has already stated that it will be forming a technocratic administration and parliament to govern until next year’s elections.
But pro-democracy groups maintain that Gen al-Burhan’s proposal for dialogue to establish a technocrat cabinet will only happen after the generals release arrested protest leaders, halt violence against protestors, and lift the state of emergency to show good faith.
In the meantime, the Geneva-based Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights group has raised concern that the operations of the local Sudanese media are threatened by the military, with more than 36 radio stations having been shut down since the coup in October.
In its report, the group lists more than 55 instances of arbitrary incarceration, harassment, raids, and shutdowns of media organisations, as well as physical and psychological assaults against journalists.
Restrictions have been imposed on freedom of expression, there have been repeated internet blackouts, and punitive measures applied on media outlets that report the popular protests and human rights atrocities that followed the coup,” the report said.
One of the major concerns is that Gen al-Burhan — who led the coup in toppling former Prime Minister, Dr Abdalla Hamdok —and his deputy, General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, were very much involved in quelling the revolt in Darfur that led to atrocities.
Sudanese demonstrators take to the streets of the capital Khartoum to protest last year’s military coup which deepened the country’s political and economic turmoil, on March 31, 2022. An October military coup led by army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan impeded Sudan’s transition to civilian rule following the 2019 ouster of autocrat Omar al-Bashir.
In August last year, the Sudanese cabinet agreed to hand over al-Bashir and his co-accused to The Hague, a week after the same cabinet approved law to allow Sudan to join the Rome Statute that created the International Criminal Court (ICC).
ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan signed an agreement with the then- Hamdok-led Sudanese Government to move forward in the cases against those accused of atrocities in the Darfur region. Al-Bashir is currently in prison facing charges of organising the coup that brought him to power in 1989.
It was quite obvious, however, that the military wing of the transitional government was uncomfortable with the decision that could implicate them once the trial starts.
The masses continue to protest in demand for the return to civilian rule, but the Forces of Freedom and Change (FFC) — the civilian coalition that led the protests that ousted al-Bashir in April 2019 — is now deeply divided after Dr Hamdok struck a deal with Gen al-Burhan last November to regain his seat. Dr Hamdok was forced to resign in early January after failing to convince the civilian wing to return to the government and after he realised that the military wing had consolidated state power.
Gen al-Burhan was the commander of the ground forces before al-Bashir promoted him to the post of inspector general of the army in February 2019, while Gen Dagalo is the leader of the notorious Rapid Support Forces that was seen as al-Bashir’s private militia.
Sudanese demonstrators take to the streets of the capital Khartoum to protest last year’s military coup which deepened the country’s political and economic turmoil, on March 31, 2022.
Last year, Mr Khan signed an agreement with the Dr Hamdok-led Sudanese government to move forward in the cases against those accused of atrocities in the Darfur region, and also said he would deploy a full-time team from his office to Sudan for the coordination of the transfers.
The ICC had issued two arrest warrants against al-Bashir in March 2009 and July 2010. However, Sudan refused to cooperate because the country was at the time not a signatory to the Rome Statute, and the African countries who were supposed to arrest him — among them Kenya and South Africa — when he visited refused to comply.
Al-Bashir faces charges on five counts of crimes against humanity: murder, extermination, forcible transfer, torture, and rape; two counts of war crimes: intentionally directing attacks against a civilian population as such or against individual civilians not taking part in hostilities, and pillaging; three counts of genocide: by killing and by causing serious bodily or mental harm, committed between 2003 and 2008 in Darfur, Sudan
At the international level, Russia and China have been supporting the coup in Sudan in exchange for support from the UN Security Council. In February, the deputy head of Sudan’s ruling Sovereign Council, Mohamed Hamdan Daglo “Hemetti”, supported Russia to defend and recognise two separatist regions in Ukraine.
Hemetti is the leader of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) that not only committed atrocities in Darfur but were responsible for the killing and torture of pro-democracy elements since the anti-Bashir protests started in 2015. The RSF killed hundreds prior to the al-Bashir ouster in April 2019.
The military junta in Sudan continues to resist demands for a transitional civilian government as they move to consolidate power and as anti-coup protests continue to grow.
The FFC was made up of pro-democracy forces that comprised civil society organisations, professionals, and opposition political parties.
In January, the Prime Minister that represented the civilian side of the coalition, Dr Hamdok resigned after the deal he made with the military was rejected by the civilian wing.
A man waves a national flag near burning tyres as Sudanese demonstrators take to the streets of the capital Khartoum on March 24, 2022 to protest military rule. UN says the country is at risk of collapse.
Al-Bashir might not be handed over to the ICC owing to the fact that his former allies who are now running the government were in charge of operations during atrocities in Darfur that attracted the charges against him.
Gen al-Burhan — who led the coup in toppling Dr Hamdok — and his deputy, Gen Dagalo, were involved in quelling the revolt in Darfur that led to the atrocities.
Gen al-Burhan was the commander of the ground forces before al-Bashir promoted him to the post of inspector general of the army in February 2019, while Gen Dagalo is the leader of Rapid Support Forces which was seen as al-Bashir’s private militia.
The court also indicted two other senior figures from the al-Bashir regime: Abdel-Rahim Muhammad Hussein, who served as Interior and Defense minister for much of the conflict, and Ahmed Haroun, who was a senior security chief at the time and later became the leader of the ruling party. In addition, the court has indicted rebel leader Abdulla Banda — who is dead — and janjaweed leader Ali Kushayb, whose charges were confirmed in February.
Protesters from the city of Atbara cheer upon arriving at the Bahari station in Sudan’s capital Khartoum for a protest against military rule on April 6, 2022.
Bahar Idriss Abu Garda, who presented himself to the court, was set free after the Pre-Trial Chamber I decided not to confirm the charges in February 2010.
Sudan is facing a very bleak future, with the military strengthening its hold on power, the goodwill of the international community has been withdrawn, and the insecurity is likely to increase as civilian protests encourage those with illegal weapons not to disarm. Darfur remains restless as residents are not comfortable with Gen al-Burhan — who tormented them — controlling the country. BY DAILY NATION