Sudan’s military ousts president in face of bloody protests
CAIRO — Sudan’s military overthrew President Omar el-Bashir on Thursday after months of bloody street protests over his repressive 30-year rule. But pro-democracy demonstrators were left angry and disappointed when the defense minister announced the armed forces will govern the country for the next two years.
El-Bashir’s fall came just over a week after Algeria’s long-ruling, military-backed president, Abdelaziz Bouteflika, was driven from power.
Together, the developments echoed the Arab Spring uprisings eight years ago that brought down entrenched rulers across the Mideast. But like those popular movements of 2011, the new ones face a similar dynamic — a struggle over what happens after an autocrat’s removal.
Protest organizers in Sudan denounced the army’s takeover and vowed to continue rallies until a civilian transitional government is formed. Tens of thousands of demonstrators were massed at a sit-in they have held for nearly a week outside the military’s headquarters in central Khartoum, the capital.
After the televised announcement of el-Bashir’s arrest by Defense Minister Awad Mohammed Ibn Ouf — who is under U.S. sanctions for links to atrocities in Sudan’s Darfur conflict — many protesters chanted angrily, “The first one fell, the second will, too!” Some shouted, “They removed a thief and brought in a thief!”
Ibn Ouf said a military council that will be formed by the army, intelligence agencies and security apparatus will rule for two years, after which “free and fair elections” will take place.
He also announced that the military had suspended the constitution, dissolved the government, declared a state of emergency for three months, closed the country’s borders and airspace, and imposed a curfew starting Thursday...