BBC is reporting
that protesters in Sudan made it to the army barracks and are now calling for the army to side with them. Perhaps unsuprisingly, the army has not budged as of now.
Predicated, of course, on the jig being up - there's no guarantee that I know of that the army doesn't simply put down the protests with force. They've stayed out of it thus far - if they act they could give the edge to one side or another.
Or the army splits, in which case bad things happen.
The awful things he says and does are burned into our cultural consciousness like a CRT display left on the same picture too long. -FighteerToo true.
I think Egypt intervenes before things get too bad in the case of an army split, so as to not threaten the Nile.
Small update on Libya: Haftar has declared a no fly zone in Western Libya, in retaliation to reports that the GNA had scrambled fighter jets from Misrata to engage with the LNA. He has not yet ordered the LNA to use its own air power. The BBC is reporting that Fayez al Sarraj (the UN backed Prime Minister of the GNA) is vowing to defend the city and has declared Haftar's action a coup.
Situation continues to be fluid in Libya. Rival air forces are striking each other (though since Haftar controls the greater bulk of said air force, his strikes seem to be more in number) and the fighting is focused on Tripoli International Airport, which is thankfully currently disused. However, perhaps because of that, Haftar has struck (and thus forced to close) the only other airport serving Tripoli, cutting all air traffic to the capital.
In Algeria, the Speaker has officially taken the mantle of acting president, though protests have not yet stopped (might be due to the guy being a loyalist to the recently ousted zombie-in-chief. However, the situation seems to be otherwise stable.
Not so in Sudan. For the last couple of days, protesters have camped out in front of the Sudanese Army HQ, demanding they side with the protests and overthrow Bashir. A few foot soldiers have defected, but special forces units loyal to Bashir are now firing live rounds on the group in order to break them up. This is increasingly looking like Sudan may devolve completely into violence, either in the form of a bloody coup or civil war.
I meant more the international backers.
Also, Omar al-Bashir didn't get a chance to flee but is instead under house arrest, according to CNN, after formally stepping down in a meeting with his defense chiefs when they told him to give it up. The government has been dissolved and a three month state of emergency is now in effect. In addition, the military has declared two years of military transitional rule and then elections. Borders are closed indefinitely and airspace is closed for the next 24 hours.
It seems, like in Algeria, the protesters are leery about the possibility of Meet the New Boss. They are calling for the entire regime to step down. This leads us to the same problem as before, in that who would take over in such an event. However, unlike Algeria, in Sudan the Sudanese Professionals Association, which consists of medical professionals, seems to have been taking the lead in the protests, so maybe them...
Finally, the US Embassy in Khartoum is warning that while things are currently "festive", it could deteriorate very quickly due to the breadth and harshness of the power of the security services and the level of victimization the populace feels toward them.
HOLY SHIT!!!
One moment...
Okay, I'm back.
Somehow, I was not expecting this. I was expecting the security forces would have turned things into a civil war before the military would have taken power. It does seem, however, that the military and protesters are at a stand off. If the military makes a move, they may find themselves in the same position al-Bashir was in, with crowds especially angry at them specifically. And putting it down with force risks escalation rather than an end. If they do nothing, the protests likely won't ease up without some concessions. And if they're determined to do a military transitional government, they're unlikely to just hand over power to the civilians...
Edited by AzurePaladin on Apr 11th 2019 at 12:05:11 PM
The awful things he says and does are burned into our cultural consciousness like a CRT display left on the same picture too long. -FighteerAl Jazeera is reporting that the protesters are not happy about the announcement of martial law and the continuing of the military regime (Bashir himself was once a general that took power in a coup, and the military was his primary local constituency) for another two years and are still going to march the streets.
We will see by how many once the next reports come in.
The BBC are now reporting that the defence minister behind the coup is also standing down, his successor however is another general.
Also the military council has ruled out sending Bashir to the ICC.
“And the Bunny nails it!” ~ Gabrael “If the UN can get through a day without everyone strangling everyone else so can we.” ~ Cyranhttps://www.bellingcat.com/news/mena/2019/04/11/logbook-part-i-the-uaes-bmp-3-ifv-in-yemen/
Interesting OSINT on the UAE's involvement in Yemen.
Ayup. But no worries, Haftar's offensive is still ongoing, Sudan's post-coup junta keeps trying to change, and Algeria's is all about the next steps.
All you missed was the End Of The Beginning, Marq.
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Not surprised. Fairly certain if Abu Dhabi has their way, they will annex parts of Yemen for themselves. They tried to do it to Socotra.
Edited by FFShinra on Apr 15th 2019 at 7:46:25 AM
Sudan's ousted president Omar al-Bashir transferred to prison
Bashir is being held under tight security in solitary confinement, a source at the prison said.
Since his removal by the military last Thursday, Bashir had been detained under heavy guard in the presidential residence inside the compound that also houses the Defence Ministry, the family sources said.
The military ousted Bashir after weeks of protests against him that culminated in a sit-in outside the Defence Ministry compound that began on April 6. Protests are still going on despite his removal.
Awad Ibn Auf, who announced Bashir’s removal and said he was being detained in a “safe place”, stepped down as head of the ruling Transitional Military Council after only a day in the post.
Abdel Fattah al-Burhan now heads the council, which has promised to hold elections within two years.
(REUTERS)

Hoo boy.