SUDAN INSIGHT ALERT: Conversation – Explainer: what Sudan’s coup is about and why the rest of the world needs to act
To support the “brave campaign of civil resistance” against the military junta, Anne Bartlett of the University of New South Wales, calls for “significant diplomatic pressure… on countries supporting [military leaders] al-Burhan and Himedti,” alongside “urgent attention paid to forensic investigation of illegal revenue streams that bypass the government and undermine democratic change.”
Bartlett notes that civilian actors “could not financially outmanoeuvre the military faction or their foreign supporters,” citing the military’s numerous holding companies whereby “much of the revenue bypasses government coffers and goes into their private accounts abroad,” making the military financially unassailable and enabling them to undermine the civilian government at every turn, including through “rent-a-crowd” demonstrations in Khartoum to support their interests.
In addition, Bartlett notes the global security risks posed by the competition over power between the military faction, hard-line Islamist elements, informal and formal armed force and a plethora of groups and armed militias.