Sudan arrests alleged Bashir loyalists ahead of 30 June protests anniversary

Sudanese authorities on Sunday arrested a group they say are affiliated to the former regime and were allegedly plotting to cause havoc in the country as it marks the second anniversary of protests.

A government committee responsible for pursuing and arresting figures linked to Bashir said the arrests came after close monitoring and information that confirmed they were planning riots ahead of processions.

The processions planned for Wednesday are to mark two years since protests broke out in retaliation to a deadly military clampdown on demonstrators in the capital Khartoum on 30 June.

The committee said in a statement viewed by The New Arab’s Arabic-language service that the violence would have "undermined the constitutional order," adding that those arrested will face the law.

Some of the most prominent detainees are retired Maj. Gen. Muhammad Hamid Tabidi, who was the director of the media department in the security and intelligence agency, as well as activist Muhannad Al-Sheikh from the banned National Congress Party.

Wednesday also marks the day Bashir took power in 1989.

An interim civilian-military government was set up after a popular revolt led to the dismissal of Bashir in April 2019.