SUDAN INSIGHT ALERT: BBC – Sudan coup: A really simple guide

25/10/2021: BBC –  Sudan coup: A really simple guide

The BBC summarise the tensions that led to the military coup in Sudan, and projections of what may happen next.

“Sudan's political frailty has a long precedent,” with the “splintering of political parties and their inability to build consensus paving the way for the military to step in under the pretext of restoring order”.

With at least 80 political parties in Sudan, the BBC note “this same factionalism plagued the Sovereign Council, where internal divisions among both the military and civilian camps pushed political consensus yet further out of reach.”

However, the coup is not necessarily a "done deal", suggests Africa analyst Alex de Waal, given Sudan's "tremendous capacity for civic mobilisation". Nonetheless, memories of the June 3 2019 massacre “will be playing on the minds of people as the [protesters and security forces] confront each other.”