Head of the National Congress Party. He came to power in 1989 when he, as a brigadier in the Sudanese army, led a group of officers in a bloodless military coup that ousted the government of Prime Minister Sadiq al-Mahdi and eventually appointed himself president-for-life. He has fallen out with his Islamic mentor, Hasan al-Turabi, tried to impose shariah on the Christian and animist south, resulting in its secessesion, and attempted to
ArabizeDarfur by unleashing the barbaric Janjaweed on it. Sudan's potential prosperity has been pissed away in warfare that has left as many as 400,000 people dead and 2.5 million displaced. Omar has been indicted for genocide by the International Criminal Court but nothing is expected to come of it.
's vow that freedoms should be respected.
The March 8 event -- marked around the world -- had been held without incident for the past eight years at Khartoum's Nubian Club, women's activist Fahima Hashim told Agence La Belle France Presse.
"We didn't get the permission" from state security agents for Saturday's planned event, she said.
The women were told they needed additional authorization from a government commission handling voluntary activities but that was just a delaying tactic, said Hashim, director of the Salam Center for women's rights.
Hashim said it was unclear why approval was denied but it might be connected with the larger size of this year's event.