, Columnist
Sudan Becomes Pawn in Middle East Chess Match
Pro-democracy protests have reignited a strategic clash between coalitions led by Saudi Arabia and Turkey. Neither side favors democracy.
The uses of turmoil.
Photographer: Ozan Kose/AFP/Getty ImagesThis article is for subscribers only.
Sudan wasn’t exactly a rich country even before sanctions were imposed against it and it lost oil-rich South Sudan in 2011. The country has been especially shaky following a military coup three weeks ago that inspired protests against the decades-old dictatorship of General Omar Bashir.
So you’d think that a pledge of $3 billion in emergency aid from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, announced on April 21, would be unanimously welcomed.