What's Next for Sudan?: Understanding the Overthrow of al-Bashir

Nearly three decades after Omar Al Bashir came to power, the regime faced a formidable challenge posed by a fresh wave of unrest that started in the northeastern city of Atbara on December 19th of last year!

On April 6th, on the anniversary of the non-violent uprising that removed the dictator Jaafar Nimeiri in 1985, the protests in Sudan reached a watershed moment. The protesters turned up the heat on the regime by camping outside of the army headquarters in Khartoum, which also houses al-Bashir's residence - calling on the army to help them oust the country’s long time dictator

On Wednesday, April 11, the defense minister Awad Ibn Ouf announced that Omar al-Bashir had been ousted and arrested by the military. He added that the army would oversee a two-year transitional period followed by elections, and that a three-months state of emergency was being put in place, with a night time curfew starting immediately.

Within 24 hours General Ouf announced his resignation and named General Abdel-Fattah Burhan, general inspector of the armed forces, as his successor.

In a statement issued shortly after the Armed Forces televised address, the opposition call the military transitional council “a military coup” that “reproduces the same faces and institutions that the people revolted against.” it also called on the people to maintain their sit-in outside the military headquarters until power is handed to a transitional civilian group.

So what’s next for Sudan?

To get some clarity on the rapidly changing situation in Sudan, Shahram Aghamir spoke with Khalid Medani, an associate professor of Political Science and Islamic Studies at McGill University in Canada.