The humanitarian crisis in Sudan began in December 2018 when civilians began to protest against President Omar al-Bashir— a president who they claim was more a dictator than anything else. After word spread around like wildfire of his plan to overthrow the previous government, Omar al-Bashir took over as president in 1989.
During his years of misleading ruling, al-Bashir formed a government-based Janjaweed militia. His leadership was based on control and led to violence, with manipulative strategies that kept the civilians of Sudan in invisible chains that kept them away from their civil human rights.
The Janjaweed militias were responsible for the deaths of over 15,000 villagers in the city of Darfur. Multiple women were raped and chemical warfare was used against the community by the hands of the militias— This only inspired the protesters to use the demonstration of African women and testimonies against police brutality to represent the heart of the protest.
In April 2019, leaders took action and Omar al-Bashir was disposed of his presidency. Just when Sudan civilians felt as if they were able to breathe and began their celebrations in respect to their newfound freedom, chaos was brought back.
Rather than the hope of a promising and hopeful democracy, Sudan civilians were granted with bloodshed and violence. Protesters who seek the power of the people through a civil transitional authority began to express their favors for a civilian-led interim body and election.
The lack of progress by the Transitional Military Council (TMC) led to a mass civil disobedience campaign nationwide: workers went on strike and civilians began to march on the streets, leading anti-Bashir protests. On June 3rd, 2019, the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces acted.
On that day, witnesses have claimed to have seen the soldiers open fire on a pro-democracy sit-in in Khartoum. The devastating event led to the deaths of 118 individuals and many other civilians were injured. The Sudanese civilians mention that the RSF is a force that installs fear and is a direct link to the Janjaweed militias.
Today, as civilians beg for global aid by pleading for the U.S government to step in, an Ethiopian envoy came in in hopes of lowering tensions. The envoy suggests the creation of a political transition that will bring peace and freedom to the country with a civilian-majority governing body.
The proposal markets a 15-member governing body, comprised of eight civilians and seven members of the military. Protest leader Babiker Faisal told AFP reporters that the Ethiopian plan will install revolutionary ends that meet the goals of what the country needs and craves.
“It will put the country on to the right track to create the transitional period that would usher in sustainable democracy.”
The proposal, however, has not yet been implemented due to the lack of response of the Transitional Military Council. As everyone waits to hear for the TMC’s response, many civilians are left vulnerable and exposed.
Marwa Gibril is a Sudanese human rights activist who shares that tensions from little to no trust between individuals of Sudan and the TMS is high, but even their skepticism cannot break the determined protesters from a hopeful future of a better democracy.
