On 30 June 1989, Sudan experienced a military coup that fundamentally changed the country’s political direction. Brigadier Omar Hassan al-Bashir overthrew the elected government of Prime Minister Sadiq al-Mahdi and established a regime that would dominate Sudan for three decades.
Background to the coup
Sudan’s civilian government faced serious difficulties in the late 1980s. The country was affected by economic decline, political fragmentation, corruption, and the continuing civil war between the government in Khartoum and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement in the south.
Parliamentary politics were also deeply divided. Rival political parties struggled to form stable governments, while religious, regional, and ideological tensions made compromise increasingly difficult. The military argued that civilian politicians were unable to restore order or address the country’s crises.
Behind the coup was also the National Islamic Front, led by Hassan al-Turabi. Although Bashir formally became the head of the new military government, the alliance between the armed forces and the Islamist movement strongly influenced the regime’s ideology and policies.
The Revolutionary Command Council
After taking power, Bashir suspended the constitution, dissolved parliament, banned political parties, and restricted trade unions and independent media. The country was ruled by the Revolutionary Command Council for National Salvation, a military body chaired by Bashir.
The new government presented itself as a force for national unity and moral reform. In practice, it centralized authority, detained political opponents, and weakened independent institutions. Security agencies became central to governing the country, and many civilians were imprisoned without normal judicial protections.
In 1993, Bashir formally became president. In 1996, elections were held, but they took place within a tightly controlled political environment. Bashir remained the dominant figure, while Turabi continued to exercise major influence for much of the 1990s.
Islamization and political repression
The government pursued an Islamist political program. It promoted the implementation of Islamic law and sought to reshape Sudanese society through religious and social legislation. Supporters viewed this as an effort to establish an ethical and self-reliant state. Critics argued that the policies restricted religious freedom, women’s rights, political pluralism, and the rights of non-Muslim and non-Arab communities.
Opposition parties were suppressed, journalists faced censorship, and security forces were accused of torture, arbitrary detention, and other abuses. Many Sudanese activists and political opponents went into exile.
The relationship between Bashir and Turabi eventually deteriorated. In 1999, Bashir dissolved parliament and removed Turabi from political power. From that point onward, Bashir’s personal and military authority became more pronounced.
War and the Darfur crisis
The government continued fighting the southern rebellion, and the civil war caused enormous loss of life and displacement. The conflict ended with the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement, which granted southern Sudan autonomy and eventually led to South Sudan’s independence in 2011.
However, peace in the south did not resolve Sudan’s wider conflicts. In 2003, rebellion broke out in Darfur. Government forces and allied Arab militias, commonly known as the Janjaweed, were accused of carrying out mass killings, village destructions, forced displacement, and other atrocities against civilian populations.
The violence in Darfur led to international condemnation. In 2009, the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Bashir, accusing him of crimes including war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide. Bashir rejected the allegations, and Sudan’s government refused to surrender him.
International isolation and economic hardship
Sudan’s political direction and alleged support for militant groups contributed to international isolation. The United States imposed sanctions, and Sudan faced diplomatic and economic pressure for many years.
The government survived partly through control of state institutions, the security apparatus, and oil revenues. Nevertheless, economic problems remained severe. Inflation, unemployment, shortages, corruption, and declining public services contributed to growing dissatisfaction among ordinary Sudanese.
The end of Bashir’s rule
In December 2018, protests began after the government removed subsidies and the cost of bread and fuel increased. The demonstrations soon expanded into a nationwide movement against Bashir’s thirty-year rule.
The protest movement was led by a broad coalition of civilians, professional associations, women, young people, and political groups. Its central demands were freedom, peace, and justice.
On 11 April 2019, the military removed Bashir from office. A Transitional Military Council initially took power, but protesters demanded genuine civilian government. After further negotiations—and a violent crackdown in June 2019—an agreement created a power-sharing transitional authority involving military and civilian representatives.
Legacy
The 1989 coup established one of Sudan’s longest-lasting authoritarian governments. It brought stability for some periods but also intensified political repression, prolonged armed conflict, deepened regional inequalities, and contributed to international isolation.
The government’s legacy remains contested. Supporters point to infrastructure projects, state consolidation, and the end of the southern civil war. Critics emphasize authoritarian rule, corruption, human-rights abuses, the Darfur conflict, and the destruction of democratic institutions.
The coup’s effects continued long after Bashir’s removal. Sudan’s later political crises—including the 2021 military coup and the war that began in 2023—were shaped in part by the military dominance and institutional weaknesses that developed during the thirty years after 1989.
Understanding this history is essential to understanding Sudan’s continuing struggle for peace, justice, accountable government, and democratic civilian rule. “Freedom, Peace and Justice” remains a powerful expression of the aspirations of Sudanese people.
