Sudan Coup: a timeline of key events since the fall of Bashir
Sudan Coup: a timeline of key events since the fall of Bashir
Thousands of Sudanese took to the streets on Monday to protest against the military 'coup', which comes after months of bitter political rivalries between different factions in the African country.
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Sudan has been gripped by discontent and political rivalries since the fall of autocrat Bashir in 2019 [source: Getty]
Sudanese armed forces detained civilian leaders, including Sudan's Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok, on Monday in a move described as a "coup".
A top Sudanese general then declared a state of emergency, dissolved the country's transitional authorities, and announced the formation of a new government.
Thousands of Sudanese took to the streets to protest against the military "coup".
Below is a recap of events in Sudan since autocrat Omar al-Bashir was toppled more than two years ago:
On April 11, 2019, four months after mass protests sparked by a hike in bread prices spiral into demands for wholesale reform, Sudan's army removed Bashir from power.
He was replaced by a transitional military government.
Thousands camped in front of army headquarters demanding civilian rule.
Talks between generals and protest leaders, however, broke down.
Armed men moved in on the protest camp on June 3 and dozens are killed in a days-long crackdown.
A feared paramilitary group that sprang from the notorious Janjaweed militia, accused of war crimes in the 2003 Darfur conflict, was blamed for the violence but rejected allegations it was involved.
After the African Union intervened, civilian and military factions agreed to share power in a three-year transition to full civilian rule.
On August 17, a "constitutional declaration" is signed and a sovereign council comprised of leading military and civilian figures is formed three days later.
In October, the government and rebel groups who fought Bashir's iron-fisted rule for decades agreed to a "permanent ceasefire" in the country's three war zones.
On December 14, Bashir was convicted of corruption and sentenced to two years in a correctional centre.
The toppled autocrat has long been wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague over charges of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity in the 2003 Darfur conflict in which 300,000 people were killed.
A Khartoum prosecutor rejected extradition as not "necessary".
Abdalla Hamdok survived an assassination attempt on March 9 2020, which many see as a bid to derail the transition process.
Inflation skyrocketed in April to 99 percent and higher, with food prices soaring after borders are closed to tackle the coronavirus pandemic.
On June 30, street demonstrations reiterated demands for justice for people killed under Bashir and during the protests of recent years.
Bashir went on trial in Khartoum on July 21 over the 1989 coup that brought him to power.
The government announced it will devalue the currency in a bid to curb black-market activity as it struggles with an "economic emergency".
In October, Sudan signed a landmark peace deal with an alliance of rebel groups.
Two key groups refused to sign and tribes in Sudan's east also opposed the accord, saying it overlooks them.
Also in October, Sudan agreed to normalise ties with Israel, in what is seen as a quid pro quo for the US to remove the country from its State Sponsors of Terrorism list in December.
Ethiopia tensions
In November, conflict broke out in Ethiopia's northern Tigray region, sending tens of thousands of refugees into Sudan.
The fighting rekindled a decades-old dispute between Sudan and Ethiopia over the fertile border region of Al-Fashaqa. Khartoum sent troops to secure the area.
The two countries have also been at odds over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, as Sudan - along with Egypt -raised concerns about water resources downstream in the Nile due to Ethiopia's mega-dam project.
Sudan in February announced a new cabinet including seven ministers from ex-rebel groups.
In June, Hamdok warned of fractures within the civilian alliance that spearheaded the anti-Bashir protests.
Protests in eastern Sudan blocked trade through the key hub of Port Sudan from September into October.
Khartoum announced on September 21 that it had thwarted a coup attempt by civilian and military plotters linked to Bashir's ousted regime.
Protesters took to the streets in Khartoum from October 16 to demand a military government, ostensibly at the behest of a splinter faction of the main civilian protest bloc.
In response, tens of thousands demonstrated on October 21 in support of the country's transition to a civilian-led democracy.
On Monday, the information ministry said armed forces detained civilian members of the ruling council and ministers in the government, as well as premier Hamdok, after he refused to support their "coup".
News of the detentions sparked demonstrations in the capital.
The ministry said internet services were cut across the country and the main roads and bridges connecting with Khartoum have been closed.
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