Three years after the fall of Omar al-Bashir, Sudan on the verge of collapse
Omar al-Bashir in court in Khartoum in August 2019. Reuters
Text by: Alexandra Brangeon Follow
3 mins
It was April 11, 2019, Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir was deposed by the army, after nearly 30 years in power.
The regime was then faced with the biggest challenge in its history - 4 months of daily demonstrations against the high cost of living and against the regime.
Under pressure from the street, the army had to release the strong man of the country, arrest him and incarcerate him in the famous prison of Kober, in Khartoum.
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Three years after the fall of dictator Omar al-Bashir, Sudan is on the verge of collapse.
Politically first of all because the country still has no government.
Since their coup last October, the military has driven out civilians and is struggling to find new partners with whom to form a new transitional government, a prerequisite for a resumption of international aid.
Only a few parties, notably the Islamists, have agreed to dialogue with the regime.
"
But the street will not accept them
", warns a political analyst and the demonstrations, as well as the repression are likely to intensify.
►Also read: Sudan: a revolution for nothing?
Since last October, more than 90 protesters have been killed by security forces.
Hundreds were arrested including 25 opposition and civil society leaders - still in prison.
Economic collapse
The country is also on the verge of economic collapse afterwards.
The Sudanese currency is in freefall, it has lost a quarter of its value since the coup.
Inflation is officially at 260%.
According to the World Food Programme, 9 million Sudanese out of a population of 44 million suffer from acute hunger.
Three years ago, it was the demonstrations against the price of bread that had also caused the fall of Omar el-Bashir.
A few months after his arrest, the dictator was sentenced to two years in prison for corruption after the discovery of more than 100 million dollars at his home.
At the time, he was also being prosecuted for the murder of protesters, for the coup that brought him to power, and for the crimes committed in Darfur.
But these lawsuits will not succeed.
What fate for Omar al-Bashir?
Under the civilian government of Abdallah Hamdock, there is a question of delivering Omar el-Béchir to the ICC, which accuses him of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur.
The discussions around his transfer are stalled because the sovereign council - led by the number of the regime, General Burhan - is dragging its feet.
►Also read: Sudan: behind the scenes of the fall of President Omar el-Bashir
Last October, the military coup put an end to any possibility of his transfer to The Hague.
Omar al-Bashir would then have since been moved to a specialized hospital in Khartoum with several senior executives of his former party.
Last week, a 20th of former regime officials, including its former foreign minister, Ibrahim Ghandour, were cleared by the courts and released.
The proof, according to the leaders of the protest, that the military power is in the process of rehabilitating the old regime and has no intention of delivering the former president to international justice.
Some days I am very optimistic, I see all these young people and all these demonstrations, and I tell myself that the fight continues.
And then the next day, reality catches up with me, I see all these old political figures who have been there for years and I tell myself that they are not going to change anything;
that we are blocked and that we turn in circles.
[Reportage] Three years after the fall of Omar el-Béchir what do the Sudanese demonstrators think?
Alexandra Brangeon
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Sudan
Omar al-Bashir
International justice