The military has taken over in Sudan. Here’s what happened
Sudan has descended into crisis after the military dissolved the country’s power-sharing government and declared a state of emergency on Monday. The move has crushed hopes for a peaceful transition of power following the ousting of former President Omar al-Bashir in 2019.
Here’s what you need to know:
What’s going on in Sudan?
Sudan had been ruled by an uneasy alliance between the military and civilian groups since 2019. But on Monday, the military effectively took control, dissolving the power-sharing Sovereign Council and transitional government, and temporarily detaining Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok.
Sudan’s top general, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, said that the agreement with civilian members of the country’s transitional sovereign council “became a conflict” over the past two years, “threatening peace and unity” in Sudan. Several articles of the constitution have been suspended and state governors removed, Burhan also said.
Who is Burhan?
Sudan’s top general, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, is behind the military takeover.
Born in Sudan’s River Nile state in 1960, Burhan served as inspector general of the Sudanese armed forces and was its third most senior general, Reuters reported. But he was largely unknown in public life before he became chief of the Sovereign Council, a hybrid civilian-military body set up to guide Sudan to democracy. As leader of the council, he served as head of state for the last two years.
How did the current troubles start?
When Bashir was ousted in a 2019 coup, ending his brutal three-decade-long rule, Sudan’s military leadership assumed control to oversee the transition of power, forming the Transitional Military Council.
But the council was strongly opposed by a pro-democracy movement which called instead for civilian rule. After a weeks-long standoff, the two sides agreed to form a Sovereign Council that would govern “for the next three years or a little longer.”
Under thedeal struck in July 2019, the military council would be in charge of the country’s leadership for the first 21 months. A civilian administration would then rule the council over the following 18 months.
But it has proved to be a shaky alliance. The triumphant mood that swept the nation after Bashir’s removal has soured, with tensions between the two sides mounting as they fought to maintain control over the nation’s future.
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