Removed from his post on October 25 by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, put back in the saddle a month later by the same general, Abdallah Hamdok went from the rank of hope to that of traitor. This Sunday, January 2, when Hamdok was about to announce his resignation, the people were once again in the streets. Once again, he called for the departure of the soldiers. Once again, there were deaths. Three demonstrators killed by bullets or beatings with sticks, reports a union of doctors. Since October 25, 57 protesters have been killed and hundreds more injured.
Abdallah Hamdok’s return to the post of prime minister at the end of November and the signing of a 14-point power-sharing agreement between military and civilians were supposed to end the protests and restore calm. None of that happened. Hamdok was never able to regain control. In addition, he has lost his allies, be they political parties or the streets. Thus the Ummah party, the largest in the country, rejected the agreement, as did members of the civil coalition of the Forces for Freedom and Change who, until October 25, shared power.
Recall that under an agreement signed during the fall of Omar al-Bashir in 2019, a civil-military coalition was to organize free elections in three years.
For the street, Hamdok has become a traitor, a foil behind which hide the soldiers who really hold power. “I tried my best to prevent the country from sliding into disaster, as today it crosses a dangerous turning point which threatens its survival, he pleaded announcing his departure. Despite everything that was done to reach consensus this did not happen “, does he have concluded.
Sudan gives the impression of having made a huge comeback to square one, almost three years ago, when the streets demanded the departure of Omar al-Bashir. The army regained control, but had it really lost it? A soldier, a dictator worn out by power, has been replaced by another soldier, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, a discreet and efficient general. A scenario that strangely resembles that experienced by the Egyptian neighbor.
The army will now have to assert its power, and that first requires the end of the demonstrations. Because the watchword “the soldiers at the barracks” chanted by the street is still relevant today. We can fear that the repression will accelerate and that the list of victims is growing. Resistance committees announce arrests or disappearances from their ranks. According to the UN, security forces use rape as a tool of repression. Thirteen demonstrators were thus raped.
Finally, the pressure increases vis-à-vis the media: journalists prevented from covering the events, material seized – as for the al-Arabiya television channel. –, internet cut.