The Sudanese President Omar Al Bashir has been asked to resign by the Military, as protesters take over the streets of Sudan.
According to Sudan state TV, the Military who have been trying to stop the protest for some days now, have made a U-turn, allegedly siding with the people while they asked Al Bashir to resign. The Military are also expected to give a nation wide announcement on the purported removal of President Omar Al-Bashir.
If the news coming out of the state capital is true, it means one of Africa’s longest serving ruler will see his reign coming to an end by the power of the people. In this case, Sudanese Al Bashir will see his over three decades of dictatorship coming to an end, just like what has happened in Algeria… clearly the Tunisia effect is still very much around and slowly taking out sit tight leaders in Africa.
Al-Bashir has ruled Sudan for three decades. He is accused of war crimes and genocide by the International Criminal Court for his government’s actions in Darfur.
He could be picked up by the international criminal Court, or possibly the Americans for war crimes. But nothing is clear yet, as we wait for an official statement from the purported coup plotters in Sudan.
According to Associated Press,, on Saturday, marches in Khartoum marked the 34th anniversary of the overthrow of former President al-Nimeiri in a bloodless coup. It was one of the largest turnouts in the current wave of unrest.
The military removed Nimeiri after a popular uprising in 1985. It quickly handed over power to an elected government. The dysfunctional administration lasted only a few years until al-Bashir — a career army officer — allied with Islamist hard-liners and toppled it in a coup in 1989.
Since the current protests began Dec. 19, the military has stated its support for the country’s “leadership” and pledged to protect the people’s “achievements” — without mentioning al-Bashir by name.
Army troops have deployed to protect vital state installations but have not tried to stop protests and, in some cases, appeared to offer a measure of protection for the demonstrators.
All that raised the possibility that what was playing out in Khartoum on Thursday was a military takeover and removal of al-Bashir.