Sudan

Sudan and Darfur

Hundreds of thousands defy Sudanese junta

On 30 December Sudan will see the eleventh round of protests since the military coup on 25 October. 19 and 25 December saw huge turnouts, and in between the official dates for demonstrations protests of various sorts seem to be continuing pretty much non-stop. In the last week many hundreds have been arrested, and hundreds injured including in some cases through direct hits with tear gas canisters and stun grenades. On 25 December a 12 year old boy was flogged. On 19 December at least 13 women and girls were raped, sparking protests specifically against sexual violence. Since 25 October the...

Sudan: resistance committees reject junta deal

The Sudanese military leadership has released political prisoners and reinstated deposed Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok to office. In a sense the junta is retreating. But in another sense they have simply put some window dressing on their coup. Hamdok has declared there will be elections by July 2023 — exactly what the coup-leaders was already saying. He has agreed a technocratic cabinet likely to be highly compliant with the military. And the military still has the control of the country’s governing “sovereignty council” it took after the coup. Moreover Hamdok and his allies have legitimised...

Sudanese junta kills 15 protesters in one day

During the anti-coup protests in Sudan on 13 November, the military killed at least nine protesters, almost as many in the previous three weeks, according to the Central Committee of Sudan Doctors. During the protests yesterday (17 November), they killed at least 15. Activists have described even traffic police firing on protesters. Dozens more have been injured including by bullets and teargas. The military has also blockaded and carried out raids on hospitals. In response neighbourhood "resistance committees" have called for "open escalation" until the coup is overthrown. The Sudanese...

The political economy of Sudan's coup and uprising

UK-based Sudanese socialist and student activist Mohammed Elnaiem, who was active in Sudan during the revolt of 2019, spoke to Solidarity . On Saturday, we had a “Millions March” in Sudan, part of a schedule of protests called by the resistance committee – neighbourhood committees that are currently leading the rebellion. Two days before it, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan announced the composition of the new, post-coup “sovereignty council”. This added fuel to the fire. People in multiple cities not only demonstrated but effectively rose up and built barricades. There is ongoing civil...

Sudan's neighbourhoods and workers vs the military coup

On 7 November a new wave of protests and a mass strike began in Sudan to overturn the military coup of 25 October. We hope to carry more next week. Sudanese civil society activist Hamid Khalafallah spoke to us on 2 November. What happened after the struggles of 2019 ? Many people feel this new coup was almost inevitable, because the arrangements created in 2019 were highly problematic. The military ousted Bashir [authoritarian ruler Omar al-Bashir] in 2019, and then they wanted to hold on to as much power as possible. In the course of the uprising, they killed a lot of people – for instance...

Resisting the coup in Sudan

On Saturday 30 October many cities in Sudan saw huge demonstrations against a new military coup, with around a million people on the streets. In 2019 mass protests, including significant workers’ mobilisations, resulted in the ousting of 20-year Islamist-influenced dictator Omar al-Bashir, and a sort of power-sharing agreement between civilian representatives and the military. The military was supposed to handover the chairship of Sudan’s Sovereignty Council by 17 November this year. Now, following the attempted military takeover on 25 October, civilian politicians including prime minister...

Sudan: unions take lead in fight for democracy

Military coups are, sadly, a fairly regular occurrence in Africa. In the last couple of years, we’ve seen the military seizing or attempting to seize power in Mali, Guinea, Ethiopia, Gabon and Sudan. What makes the recent military coup in Sudan of particular interest to us is the extraordinary role played by the country’s trade unions in the fight to defend democracy. The coup began, as might be expected, by a crackdown on journalists. According to reports from the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), “Bloomberg/Al Sharq correspondent Maha Al-Talb and her crew were arrested and held...

Workers' Liberty summer camp 2019

Fifty friends and supporters of Workers’ Liberty gathered in the hills of West Yorkshire for our annual summer camp on 8-11 August. Although storms were forecast, socialists of all ages enjoyed wild swimming in a nearby waterfall, hiking, trips on the canals and steam railways of the surrounding valleys, football, and our annual pub quiz and talent show. Longtime socialist Bruce Robinson ran a presentation on African Jazz; we learned about the history of Esperanto in the European workers’ movement; and we enjoyed talks from Deliveroo strikers, Nama’a al-Mahdi the Sudanese revolutionary...

Sudan: protests against stalled deal

Audio recording of a Workers' Liberty London meeting on Democracy and Revolution in Sudan (12 July) with Sudanese human rights activist Namaa al-Mahdi here Further demonstrations have been held in Sudan’s capital Khartoum following the killing of a civilian in El-Souk by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia. There had been demonstrations in El-Souk calling on the RSF to leave. The demand for civilian rule and an end to the Transitional Military Council (TMC) regime that replaced that of Omar al-Bashir is increasing. A rotten deal, not yet signed, would allow the military to govern for 21...

Sudan: 30 June lifts spirits

Thousands of people marched through Khartoum on 30 June. While the police and the militias responded with attempt at repression, they were not able to quell the protests. Activists count 30 June as a major success. The symbolism of marching on the anniversary of the Bashir coup was also important for the demonstrators. This “million man march” also saw demonstrations across the country in Rabak, Halfa, Jabra, Arkaweet-Albalabel, Atbara, Nuri, Alshajara, Alsahafa, Aliskan, El-Obied, Kauda, Kasala, Alruseiris, Dongola, Wad madani, Burri, Kareema, Souq alarabi, Khartoum, Umdurman-wad nubawi and...

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