1989 Sudanese coup d'état

History

Background

Main article: Second Sudanese Civil War

In 1983, a civil war broke out between Sudan's central government and the Sudan People's Liberation Army, and it was fought at great cost to the country's civilian population. In 1989 the number of civilian casualties that resulted from famine alone was estimated to be as high as 250,000. By February 1989, a group of Sudanese Army officers presented an ultimatum to the incumbent Prime Minister, Sadiq al-Mahdi, in which they asked him to either end the war or give the military the means to end it, with Mahdi choosing the former.

Mahdi's inability to put an end to the conflict in the months that followed, along with a crippled Sudanese economy, led to growing tension between him and the army officials. His decision on 18 June to arrest a group of 14 military officials and 50 civilians, all of whom were accused of being engaged in a plan to overthrow the government and restore former President Gaafar Nimeiry to power, may have further motivated the coup, though Nimeiry himself denied having any involvement in the plot.

Coup

On 30 June 1989, military officers under the command of then Brigadier Omar Hassan al-Bashir, with instigation and support from the National Islamic Front (NIF), replaced the Sadiq al-Mahdi government with the Revolutionary Command Council for National Salvation (RCCNS), claiming to be saving the country from the "rotten political parties." That same day, Al-Bashir was declared head of state, Prime Minister, Defense Minister and Commander in Chief of the armed forces. The new military junta would consist of 15 military officers (reduced to 12 in 1991) and it was assisted by a civilian cabinet.

Aftermath

The coup put an end to the newly facilitated democratic system of government in Sudan, which was established in 1985, and replaced it with a totalitarian regime led by Omar al-Bashir, which was responsible for a series of war crimes and human rights violations. The support which the new Sudanese government received from the NIF, which would eventually lead it to receive support from Iran, enabled it to make large-scale arms purchases from China and the former Soviet republics, which it used to step up the still on-going civil war in the south in an effort to end it with a military victory. Under the heavy influence of the NIF, the government also banned political parties, trade unions, and other "nonreligious institutions", imposed tight controls on the press as well as strict dress and behavior codes on women. More than 78,000 people were purged from the army, police and civil administration, resulting in a thorough reshaping of the state apparatus.

Al-Bashir has been held responsible for the Darfur Genocide by the International Criminal Court, which has sought his extradition since 2008 on charges of genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity.

Al-Bashir's regime was removed from power in another military coup on 11 April 2019.

References

References

1. M. W. Daly, Darfur's Sorrow: The Forgotten History of a Humanitarian Disaster, p. 258, 2007
2. (1 July 1989). "Military Coup in Sudan Ousts Civilian Regime". The New York Times.
3. (2023). "The Varieties of Civilian Praetorianism: Evidence From Sudan’s Coup Politics". Armed Forces & Society.
4. (25 November 2003). "Profile: Sudan's President Bashir". BBC News.
5. Associated Press. (3 November 2008). "Former Sudan president dies in Egypt".
6. (11 April 2019). "Sudan's dictator, Omar al-Bashir, is forced out of power". The Economist.
7. Adam, Ahmed H. (14 August 2018). "What next for Sudan after Bashir's nomination for a third term?". Al Jazeera.
8. "Refworld | Human Rights Watch World Report 1994 - Sudan".
9. Human Rights Watch. (August 1998). "Global Trade, Local Impact: Arms Transfers to all Sides in the Civil War in Sudan. {{!}}{{!}}. The Civil War". World Report 1998: Sudan.
10. "Sudan - Conflict in Darfur".
11. Patel-Carstairs, Sunita. (12 April 2019). "Sudan's 'tyrant' president Omar al Bashir toppled in military coup". Sky News.