The crisis in Sudan is getting worse with reports of internet shutdown across the country.
On Sunday, cybersecurity firm NetBlocks confirmed that internet connectivity in Sudan had dropped to 2%, down from its usual 40%. Since then, the internet has been slowly restored to some areas.
What’s happening in Sudan: Over the past seven days, two army generals have unleashed military forces in a jostle for power.
In 2019, Lt Gen Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the commander of the military, and Lt Gen Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, who leads the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), ousted Sudan’s dictator Omar al-Bashir. In 2021, the duo again toppled a civilian government of prime minister Abdallah Hamdok and prevented a transition to civilian rule.
Since then, international organisations—via threats of sanctions—have pressured the duo to hand over power for civilian rule, and the pressure finally erupted into conflict as former lovers turned enemies. Both military leaders began to use their armies against each other, leaving thousands displaced and hundreds dead.
A history of shutdowns: Internet shutdowns aren’t new in Sudan. Its first shutdown, during the 2019 coup, lasted 36 days. It subsequently had at least three other shutdowns since then including an 8-hour shutdown after last year’s coup.
Source: TechCabal
