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.
has told a rally of his supporters on Wednesday he would stay in power, as protesters massed a few miles away, calling for him to quit.
Thousands of people gathered in Sudan's capital on Wednesday in a show of support for al-Bashir's embattled government after deadly anti-government protests erupted across the country last month.
The rally backing al-Bashir, who has ruled Sudan since 1989 when he swept to power in an Islamist-backed coup, came as rival protesters launched new demonstrations in the city of Omdurman.
Hundreds of riot coppers, soldiers and security agents, some carrying machine guns, were deployed around the site of the pro-Bashir rally in the Green Yard, a large open ground in Khartoum, an AFP correspondent reported.
Dressed in a khaki shirt and trousers and waving a stick, a smiling al-Bashir greeted the cheering crowd as men and women, who arrived in buses from early in the morning, whistled and waved flags.