Politics
Sudanese Protesters Brave Bullets Seeking an End to Leader’s Three-Decade Rule
- Dozens dead in demonstrations rocking African nation’s cities
- Unrest sparked by economic woes poses major test for president
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Salah Mohamed was a child when Omar al-Bashir seized power in Sudan’s Islamist-backed coup. Three decades on, he’s braving bullets and tear gas in joining a wave of protests aimed at bringing the controversial leader’s rule to an end.
The 39-year-old pharmacist is one of thousands of Sudanese who’ve taken to the streets nationwide since mid-December, enraged by soaring living costs and a government they accuse of corruption and incompetence in everything but meting out violence. Al-Bashir, who’s quelled several internal rebellions and been indicted by the International Criminal Court for alleged war crimes, is now facing an existential challenge much closer to home in unrest that’s left dozens dead.