Dictator Swagger:
On This Day
April 6-7, 2019 – Large scale protests break out across Sudan and, within 5 days, Sudan’s seventh President, Omar al-Bashir, is removed in a military coup ending his thirty-year rule. The protests and coup in April 2019, were a resumption of the civil unrest which initially broke out the previous December in response to the rising cost of living and simultaneous economic decline in Sudan. Al-Bashir temporarily subdued the protests with mass arrests and by declaring martial law.
By April, elements within the Sudanese Military had become sympathetic to the plight of the people and turned on al-Bashir resulting in his ouster. Al-Bashir has been accused of human rights violations during clashes with several military groups in Sudan during his reign, most notably during the war in Darfur, which is believed to have resulted in 300-400 deaths and 2.5 million displaced persons.
The International Criminal Court delivered to the Sudanese government two warrants for al-Bashir’s arrest for “being criminally responsible, as an indirect co-perpetrator” for war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide in Darfur. Following his removal from office, al-Bashir was sentenced to two years for corruption in a Sudanese court. In February 2020, the Sudanese Military states it would deliver al-Bashir to the ICC to be tried for his alleged crimes during the Darfur war.
