On this day, 19 December 2018, a series of popular protests erupted in several cities in Sudan in opposition to price increases and high cost of living. They gradually expanded to include most parts of the country and developed into a movement calling for the downfall of then Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir.
Protesters engaged in civil disobedience, strikes, demonstrations and sit-ins, and were largely organised by neighbourhood committees, unions and women’s associations. Dozens of people were killed and hundreds wounded.
On April 11, 2019, the army announced the removal of President Omar al-Bashir from power and the start of a two-year transitional period that would end with holding elections to transfer power. The army tried to tighten its grip and put an end to the popular revolt, so it increased its brutality and responded by launching a massacre to disperse a protest camp outside its headquarters, after obtaining the support of Arab regimes and foreign governments.
However, protests continued, and gradually the transition to democracy proceeded, until the military launched a coup on October 25, 2021. The ousted civilian prime minister was soon returned to power, after being forced to sign over concessions to the military. Protests against the move are ongoing.
Pictured: Alaa Salah addressing a crowd of demonstrators.
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