“Revolution, counter-revolution and war in Sudan”

5pm, Sunday 27 October

Online – please register here: https://tinyurl.com/SudanRev24

Three years after the military coup: resisting war, building solidarity 

Speakers include: 

• Muzan Alneel, Sudanese researcher and writer
• The Revolutionary Charter for Establishing People’s Authority
• The Alliance for Demand-Based Campaigns (TAM)
• The Workers Alliance for the Restoration of Trade Unions
• Rania Obead, MENA Solidarity Network

The Sudanese December 2018 revolution is a powerful example of a grassroots movement that originated in rural areas. Millions of Sudanese people across the country demanded the fall of General Omar al-Bashir’s 30-year dictatorship and his party, the Muslim Brotherhood. The revolution was sparked by student protests and supported by workers organising general strikes and civil disobedience. Demand-based campaigns from across Sudan joined the movement. The Resistance Committees, grassroots neighbourhood networks of Sudanese residents, organised street movements and led millions onto the streets. Women were the pulse of the revolution. However, the aspirations of the Sudanese people and their peaceful revolution were met with vicious attacks from the ruling class, who unleashed their militias and apparatus.

Sudan’s major militias, the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), opposed the people’s revolution and their demands for freedom, peace, and justice. Leaders of the two militias, Abdul Fatah al-Burhan of SAF (who created the RSF under Omar al-Bashir’s command to protect his regime and with the EU’s support to “save Europe from illegal migration”) and Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (known as Hemedti), with the help of British, EU, US, and regional powers like the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Israel, and Egypt, pressured the civilian forces to sign the 2019 constitutional declaration and form a power-sharing government.

The revolutionary forces continued their struggle, issuing revolutionary declarations that documented their demands and vision for a new Sudan. In October 2021, the counter-revolutionary militias led by al-Burhan and Hemedti overthrew the civilian government and reinstated the Muslim Brotherhood in government positions. Foreign powers again pressured the civilian forces to sign another agreement. Israeli security officials visited Sudan a few weeks before the coup and met with the coup leaders. However, this time, the militias, once allies, became enemies and started fighting each other in April 2023, causing tens of thousands of deaths, displacing over 10 million people, collapsing the health and education systems, and destroying the country’s fragile infrastructure. Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen met al-Burhan during an official visit to Sudan two months before the war and discussed “deepening cooperation in security and military matters as well as agriculture, energy, health, water, and education”.

Revolutionary forces, trade unionists, and activists became primary targets for both militias, resulting in thousands being killed, abducted, tortured, raped, and forcibly displaced. Adding to the suffering, workers and pensioners have remained unpaid since the war began.

The SAF is fighting to protect its control over 87% of Sudan’s wealth, while the RSF is fighting to protect its gold mining and many other businesses interests.

Both militias are enemies of the people’s revolution and are battling for control of Sudan’s wealth and power, which rightfully belong to the Sudanese people.

Britain, the EU, the US, Russia, the UAE, Egypt, Israel, and Iran are all fuelling the war by directly arming both sides or through proxy regional powers.

The Sudan Solidarity Conference 2024 is set to analyse and discuss the revolution, counter-revolution, and the ongoing war with the main Sudanese revolutionaries. We aim to gain a deeper understanding of what is happening in Sudan and to provide the utmost solidarity to our Sudanese comrades.

Join us on learn about and support the revolution in Sudan.

Resources and background:

Listen to this interview to learn more about what is happening in Sudan.

For more information and resources, access our Stop the War in Sudan toolkit and sign the postcard addressed to Prime Minister Keir Starmer, urging the British government to support the Sudanese people.

Share this motion with your union branch and advocate for its adoption: Model Motion – Stand with Sudan: Stop the War, Support the People

Download resources:

• ‘Famine is the new war’ Sudan Update September 2024 – download the leaflet >>here
• ‘Stopping Sudan’s hidden war’ Sudan Update March 2024 – download the leaflet >>here
• ‘Why is there a war in Sudan?’ Sudan Update May 2023 – download the leaflet >>here
• ‘Stop the war in Sudan’ Sudan Update April 2023 – download the leaflet >>here
• Stop the war in Sudan / Refugees welcome A4 poster – download >>here