“DEEP STATE” OF ISLAMISTS STILL IN SUDAN
Barnabas Fund, 7 May 2019
The barbarous rule of dictator Omar al-Bashir might be over, but whether Sudan will continue to be run by Islamist extremists hangs in the balance.
The al-Bashir government had apparently tried to eradicate Christians from Sudan. It deported Christians to South Sudan and forced them to live as despised second-class citizens under Islamic sharia law.
But Islamist regime insiders close to al-Bashir remain in the shadows, determined to maintain their grip on power.
These Islamist insiders make up what is being described in media reports as a “deep state” of shadowy authority figures that retain power and influence.
Military control may allow this “deep state” to eventually seize power in a countercoup as Islamist influence is strong in the upper echelons of the armed forces.
It will be difficult for independent individuals or groups with experience and strength to deal with these dangers.
The time may be ripe for Western democracies to help Sudan through diplomacy and also funding, but will these powers grasp this historic opportunity to do so?