The recent news of everything happening in Sudan is absolutely heartbreaking!

I’m sure we’ve all scrolled Instagram and seen posts, or we’ve gotten alerts from CNN and similar news apps but we want to pull it all together for you in one place so that you can understand what’s going on and support if you feel compelled.

So let’s start from the top….

WHERE IS SUDAN?

Located in the continent of Africa, Sudan covers 1,861,484 square kilometers of land, making it the 16th largest nation in terms of land area. Sudan became an independent state in 1956, after gaining its sovereignty from The United Kingdom.

WHAT IS THE ISSUE?

According to CNN: 

What started as a protest against an authoritarian President in Sudan turned into jubilation and dancing on the streets this year after he was deposed. But instead of the new beginning that protesters had yearned for, months of chaos and bloodshed have followed and dominated news coverage worldwide.

How did one of Africa’s largest nations go from ending a dictator’s brutal 30-year reign to deadly street crackdowns?
Here are some answers.

How did it all begin?

Everything started in December with the Sudan uprising.
The rallies began as demonstrations again the rising cost of food and shortages of fuel, but they morphed into protests against the President, Omar al-Bashir.
The movement started off on an optimistic note, with the nation’s women at the heart of the demonstrations and iconic images of them defying police brutality shared widely.

Why did they want Omar al-Bashir out?

Bashir’s legacy is one of human suffering and atrocities.

He took over as President of Sudan in 1989, after he led a coup that ousted the previous government.

Though he’s technically been re-elected several times, human rights groups say the elections weren’t democratic.

Bashir isn’t exactly known as a benevolent leader. It was estimated that more than 15,000 villagers were killed by the government-backed Janjaweed militia between early 2003 and late 2004 in Darfur, and millions of Sudanese people were displaced. The Janjaweed militia was also accused of raping women in Darfur, and the government was accused of using chemical weapons against the community.

The International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor issued an arrest warrant in 2009 for Bashir on charges of genocide and war crimes related to Darfur. The court issued another arrest warrant in 2010 but in 2014 had to suspend the case because of lack of support from the United Nations Security Council.

That’s just scratching the surface. And through it all, Bashir retained power.

Then, the protests started late last year, and numerous deaths were reported as security forces used excessive force and violence against demonstrators, Amnesty International and others said. “The situation is getting very bad — a lot of people dying. And they are torturing so many people,” one Sudanese demonstrator told CNN in April. “So, we are here to protest that and to ask the international community to stand with the Sudanese people.”

After months of protests, Bashir was arrested in April and removed from power in a military coup announced by Sudanese defense minister, Awad Mohamed Ahmed Ibn Auf. A military council would take control to oversee a transition of power, he said.

WHO HAS BEEN AFFECTED?

Civilians are being killed.

Woman and children are being raped.

CNN reveals: As violence continued to mark protests, a mass civil disobedience campaign also emerged nationwide.

Soldiers and paramilitary groups earlier this month opened fire on a pro-democracy sit-in in Khartoum, leaving at least 118 people dead, the Central Committee of Sudan Doctors said. The massacre horrified human rights activists and governments worldwide.
Sudan is sliding into a “human rights abyss,” United Nations experts said, calling for an independent investigation.
According to Dessret News:
The Sudan military admitted for the first time that it ordered the brutal crackdown of the country’s protesters, which started a widespread panic and left scores dead, according to Al Jazeera.

Sudan’s ruling military council said it ordered the dispersal of the sit-in protest at the capital, which led to dozens of deaths.

The Transitional Military Council (TMC) spokesman Shams al-Din Kabashi said the military “decided to disperse the sit-in,” according to Al Jazeera.

Context: Protesters began their sit-in outside of the army’s headquarters after they saw Sudan’s longtime president Omar al-Bashir overthrown back in April.

READ FULL ARTICLE HERE

WHAT OUR FAVORITE CELEBS ARE SAYING?

George Cloney has been very vocal about what the US should be doing to help the citizens of Sudan and on June 11, the actor published an op-ed in Politico:

How Congress Can Help Stop the Killing in Sudan

It’s a must read!

Other celebrities using their platform to shine a light on the issues in Sudan and turning their profile photos blue:

yara shahidi
Ibtihaj mohammad

HOW WE CAN HELP!

  • Call your member of Congress
  • Call 202-224-3121. State your zip code. When connected, tell them you support helping the people of Sudan
  • You can also send them George Clooney’s essay!
  • Use ResistBot to text your member of Congress.
  • Text RESIST to 50409
  • Give to UNICEF, they are currently working to help children displaced by the conflict.
  • Sign the Change.org petition telling the UN they must investigate the human rights violations in Sudan by the military.

If there is anything you’d like us to add to this article to make it a better resource please comment below!

We’ll review and add.

Prayers for our beautiful sisters and brothers in Sudan

Mommi Sanya for

MommiNation