Sudan
Constitutional Background
In 1989, a military junta of the NIF (National Isliamic Front) under their leader Omar Baschir established the first islamic regime in Africa, reducing the 40 newspapers to 4 and governing with the assistance of a "Council of the Fourty" led by Islamist Hassan at-Turabi. In 1995 Amnesty International reported torture and large-scale murder during arrests. The government tried to impose restrictions on the non-islamic South.
History and News
- 12 Dec 1999: Sudan's Ramadan Fast is being broken by a dramatic palace coup; President Omar Bashir declares a state of emergency, suspends part of the constitution and sends troops to take over parliament. The activity is targeted against the Islamist-oriented National Congress Party of Hassan Turabi.
- 28 Dec 1997: Guerrillas from the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA), a mainly southern movement, and the Beja Congress Armed Forces, part of the northern rebels National Democratic Allicance (NDA), helped by Eritrea and Ethiopia are launching an attack on the government.
- Sep 1995: Student-led anti-government protests in Khartoum escalate into three days of bloody riots.
- 6 July 1995, Asmara (Eritrea): The NDA (National Democratic Alliance) unifies Sudanese oppositional parties with a new program under newly elected General Secretary Mubarak al-Fadl al-Mahdi.
- 29 June 1995, Kairo (Egypt): Egyptian President Husni Mubarak challenges Sudan for organizing his assassination in Addis Abeba (Ethiopia) by supporting egyptian fundamentalist Mustafa Hamza.
- 1989: Fundamentalist regime under junta chief Omar Baschir takes over the Sudan. The oppositional Umma-Party under Mamun al-Scharfi goes into exile in Egypt.