SUDAN INSIGHT ALERT: London Review of Books – On the Coup in Sudan

1/11/2021: London Review of Books – On the Coup in Sudan, by Jean-Baptiste Gallopin

Following the military coup, analyst Jean-Baptiste Gallopin argues that, unlike in 2019, “the army is emboldened,” noting that “security forces knock on doors at night, arresting leaders and organisers who have not already gone into hiding,” by contrast two years ago, whereby, after four months of street protests, “the generals thought better of detaining revolutionary leaders”. 

Thus, Gallopin argues that the transition’ period has taught generals and militias alike that popular demands to bring them to account will be irresistible if civilians are allowed to set the political agenda.

In addition, Gallopin revealed that a former minister, close to the military, suggested that army chief Abdulfattah al-Burhan staged the coup “because his position in the military and security apparatus was under threat from hardliners who thought the time was ripe: if he held back, he would have been toppled by his fellow officers.”