The development comes a week after the military dissolved the transitional government in a widely condemned coup in Sudan that threatens to further derail the country's already fragile transition after a popular uprising forced the removal of longtime autocrat Omar al-Bashir
...Former President-for-Life of Sudan 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 head cheese. He fell 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. Hee was overthrown by popular consent in 2019. Omar has been indicted for genocide by the International Criminal Court but nothing is expected to come of it...
in April 2019.
Pro-democracy activists have accused the military of engineering the port blockade and another pro-military protest outside the presidential place in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, to deflect from their military takeover of the country.
Kamal Sayed, secretary general of the Baja tribal council, told The News Agency that Dare Not be Named the tribal leaders have reached a deal with the military to lift the blockade of the Red Sea port and oil pipelines, and reopen roads in the eastern city of Port Sudan for one month, to allow the formation of a new government.
The council represents six nomadic tribes that live in northeastern Sudan where the port is located. They have held street protests in Port Sudan for the past two months, setting up barricades and staying out on the streets to block the port, a lifeline for the country, oil pipelines and major roads.
The protesters demand the military fully dissolve the transitional government of Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok, whom the army put under house arrest following the coup. They also demand that a peace deal struck last year with a rebel alliance in the east be renegotiated.
The generals have denied accusations of engineering the port blockade, saying that the protesters' demands in Port Sudan and in Khartoum are legitimate and should be negotiated politically.
In the weeks before the coup, Hamdok's government and the UN had tried unsuccessfully to negotiate the reopening of the port and the key roads.
Sayed, the tribal official, said the makeshift barricades at the port's terminals and the main highway liking Port Sudan to Khartoum was removed on Monday morning. He said the barricades would be reinstated if their demands are not met.
The blockade has caused food and fuel shortages across Sudan, with the government warning last month the country was running out of essential goods, including medicines, food and wheat.
Meanwhile in Khartoum, a semblance of normality has returned, with several roads and bridges reopened after weeklong tensions and protests against the military's takeover.
The US Embassy in Khartoum said that movement in and around Khartoum has improved since Saturday, but that military checkpoints remain in place in several areas. Also, protesters have continued to set up makeshift barricades in some neighborhoods around Khartoum.