Ahmed Mohamed Abdi
BBC Monitoring

The Sudan Armed Forces have played a leading role in the politics of the country since independence in 1956. The army has been criticised for exploiting popular grievances to assume power and then establishing repressive regimes that circumvent the will of the people.

• In 1958, just two years after independence, Chief of Staff Maj Gen Ibrahim Abboud took power in a bloodless coup.
• A popular uprising forced the military to relinquish power in 1964.
• The military then returned to power in another coup d'etat in 1969 led by Col Jaafar el-Nimeiri. Nimeiri himself weathered subsequent coup attempts and rebellions.
• In 1985, Lt-Gen Abdel Rahman Swar al-Dhahab led a group of military officers in overthrowing el-Nimeiri.
• A year later, al-Dhahab handed over power to the elected government of Prime Minister al-Sadiq al-Mahdi.
• But three years later, in June 1989, Islamist military officers led by a Brigadier Omar al-Bashir overthrew Al-Mahdi’s unstable rule.

Thirty years on, Bashir remains in charge, having seen off several challenges to his rule.

Image source, Reuters

Will Ross
Africa editor, BBC World Service

The people of Sudan are anxiously waiting for what state media have described as an important announcement by the military.

The country has been gripped by months of mass protests with calls for President Omar al-Bashir to step down.

There's increasing speculation that his resignation is imminent, but there has not been any official statement yet.

With thousands of demonstrators gathered in the capital Khartoum, military vehicles are reported to have closed off key roads and radio broadcasts have been interrupted by marching music.

Protest organisers are calling for people to remain on the streets; correspondents say many will only be satisfied if the entire Sudanese government is removed, not just the president.

Some people died on Tuesday after the security forces tried to disperse the crowds. Some soldiers fired back at the security personnel.

The BBC's Africa editor, Fergal Keane, is tweeting about the latest developments.

Channel 4 News foreign reporter Yousra Elbagir says she understands that a meeting of Sudan's top military and security brass is taking place right now to discuss who will lead a new transitional High Council of Armed forces.

Here are her tweets:

Fergal Keane
BBC Africa editor

Image source, Reuters

An announcement by the army in Sudan is now expected, raising anticipation that President Omar al-Bashir’s 30 years in power are coming to an end.

Tens of thousands of people have been maintaining a protest vigil outside military headquarters since Saturday, demanding the removal of the president.

On two successive nights they were attacked by intelligence and militia forces loyal to him - and on both occasions the army stepped in to protect them.

This was an early sign of fracturing in a previously steadfast security establishment.

Image source, Reuters

Protests against Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir, who has ruled since 1989, have been under way since December.

They were originally sparked by a rise in the cost of living, but demonstrators are now calling for the president to resign and his government to go.

Representatives of the protesters say they are seeking talks with the army regarding the formation of a transitional government.

Omar el-Digeir, a senior protest member, told AFP news agency last week that the group was seeking a path "that represents the wish of the revolution".

Police have ordered officers not to intervene against the protests.

On Tuesday, a police spokesman called for "an agreement which would support the peaceful transition of power" in Sudan.

The government has been criticised by rights groups for a heavy-handed response to the unrest.

Government officials admit 38 people have died since the unrest began in December, but the pressure group Human Rights Watch says the number is higher.

In February, it looked as though the president might step down, but instead Mr Bashir declared a state of national emergency.

Now, there is speculation that the army has turned against him and he is on his way out.

Read: What next for Sudan's master manipulator?

A protester has told BBC Newsday that people are celebrating in Sudan's capital, Khartoum, as speculation grows that the military could force President Omar al-Bashir out of power.

Sudanese military vehicles have been positioned on the main roads and bridges in the capital, Khartoum, Reuters news agency is quoting an unnamed witness as saying.

People are chanting "It [the government] has fallen. We won," the witness said, Reuters reports.

Read: Inside the sit-in at army HQ

Thousands of people are going towards the defence ministry's compound in Sudan's capital, Khartoum, to join protesters demanding an end to President Omar al-Bashir's 30-year-rule.

This was the scene in Khartoum on Wednesday night:

Image source, Reuters

Channel 4 News foreign reporter Yousra Elbagir has tweeted that there are reports that senior government officials have been arrested, and the airport has been shut.

Image source, Reuters

Here's a quick look at the military and political career of Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir:

• Fights in Egyptian army in 1973 Arab-Israeli war
• Seizes power in Sudan in 1989 in an Islamist-backed coup
• Gives asylum to al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in 1990s
• First head of state indicted by ICC in 2009, but denies accusations of war crimes in Darfur
• Makes peace with southern rebels in 2005
• Oversees secession of the south in 2011, leading to Sudan losing three-quarters of its oil wealth
• Little is known about his private life. He has no children.

Read: Omar al-Bashir in profile

A rally in support of Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir was due to be held in the capital, Khartoum, later on Thursday, but there are unconfirmed reports that it has been cancelled.

Image source, Getty Images

"Could this be the moment that Sudan's protesters and exiled diaspora have been waiting for?," asks a Channel 4 News foreign reporter on Twitter after state media reported that the army is to make an "important" announcement.

There is speculation that a coup attempt could be under way against Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir, after state media said the army is to make an "important" announcement soon, Reuters news agency reports.

On Wednesday night, protesters continued rallying outside the the defence ministry in the capital, Khartoum, to demand Mr Bashir's resignation.

Image source, Reuters

Several military vehicles entered the army compound in Sudan's capital, Khartoum, in the early hours of Thursday morning, AFP news agency is quoting unnamed witnesses as saying.

The compound houses the defence ministry, and the official residence of President Omar al-Bashir, AFP adds

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Members of South Africa's governing African National Congress (ANC) have abandoned plans to burn the book, Gangster State, following strong criticism from senior leaders of the party.

National Assembly Speaker and ANC member Baleka Mbete said she condemned in the "strongest terms the repulsive acts of criminality and flagrant attack on the key principles of our constitutional democracy by threats to burn copies" of the book, which exposes the alleged corruption of the powerful ANC secretary-general, Ace Magashule, in his home province of Free State.

Ms Mbete issued the statement jointly with the chairwoman of parliament's upper chamber, Thandi Modise.

A spokesman for the ANC's youth wing in Free State province, Sello Pietersen, confirmed that the burning of the book - planned for today - had been cancelled following discussions with the party's national leaders.

"However, we will go ahead with condemnation and engaging the falsehoods which are presented in that particular book because we believe it is propaganda intended to undermine the integrity of the leadership of the ANC," Mr Pietersen told the privately owned IOL news site. , external

The book accuses Magashule of being corrupt. He denies the allegation, and has threatened to sue its author and publisher.

The mood in Sudan's capital, Khartoum, was different on Wednesday night. Anti-government protesters put up huge screens to watch Barcelona beat Manchester United 1-0 in the Champions League quarter-final first leg.

"The revolution can wait," a Channel 4 News foreign reporter, summing up the mood of the crowd.

BBC World Service

State media in Sudan say the army is to make an important statement soon. Radio broadcasts have been interrupted by marching music.

Thousands of protesters have spent a fifth night camped outside the military headquarters in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum.

Image source, Getty Images

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