KHARTOUM, Sudan (AFP) — One year after a military coup derailed Sudan's transition, the country remains mired in deepening political and economic turmoil that observers say poses threats of even greater instability.

The northeast African nation's latest coup took place on 25 October 2021, when army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan removed a key civilian bloc, the Forces for Freedom and Change, from its role as the head of a transition to full civilian rule.

The short-lived transition, which followed the ouster in 2019 of president Omar al-Bashir, was fragile and overshadowed by deepening political divisions and a chronic economic crisis inherited from Bashir's three decades in power.

"The primary target of the coup was achieved, which is to grant the military institution a veto power over politics in Sudan," Sudanese analyst Magdi el-Gizouli of the Rift Valley Institute said.
"But the move has greatly harmed the country."

Burhan initially billed his coup as a move "to rectify the course of the transition," but instead the situation worsened.

Near weekly anti-coup protests have been countered by force that has killed at least 117 people, pro-democracy medics say.

And a broader security breakdown nationwide has left hundreds dead in bouts of ethnic violence.

Western governments have suspended crucial aid, and economic hardship means millions face "acute food insecurity" and children forced to abandon schooling.

Government employees, traders and civil servants have all staged strikes against the worsening living conditions.

This month, Finance Minister Gibril Ibrahim called on the World Bank to resume aid urgently, saying Sudan's "poorest citizens" were being harmed.

Sudan still has no prime minister since the January resignation of Abdalla Hamdok, who was ousted in last October's coup before being reinstated weeks later.

No political initiative aimed at rescuing the country has made significant headway.

In July, Burhan pledged to step aside and make way for factions to agree on a civilian government, but civilian leaders dismissed this as a "ruse."

Power struggle

The military has since urged civilians to agree on a government, but divisions among civilian groups have deepened.