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| - Sudan and rebel forces agreed a landmark peace deal on Monday, almost a year and a half since mass protests ousted its president Omar al-Bashir from power. Here is a recap of events since the end of Bashir's three decades of iron-fisted rule. On April 11, 2019, four months after mass protests sparked by a hike in bread prices morph into wider demands for reforms, Sudan's military authorities announce they have removed Bashir from power. He is replaced by a transitional military government. Defying a curfew, thousands of demonstrators remain camped in front of army headquarters, as the protest movement demands a civilian government. Negotiations between ruling generals and protest leaders end on May 20 without a deal on a democratic transition. On June 3, armed men in military fatigues move in on the protest camp outside army headquarters and disperse thousands of protesters. Dozens are killed in the ensuing days-long crackdown. The Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a feared paramilitary group that sprang from the notorious Janjaweed militia accused by rights groups of committing war crimes in Darfur, is blamed for the violence. Army chiefs announce a probe. The military calls for elections within nine months. Protesters denounce a putsch. After both sides signal they are ready to talk again, Ethiopia and African Union mediators in June present new proposals for a transition. On July 5, the two sides agree in principle on an accord providing for power sharing before transition to civilian rule. On August 17, the military and protest leaders sign the hard-won "constitutional declaration" and a sovereign council is formed three days later. In October, the government and rebel groups enter peace talks in Juba, South Sudan. Sudan on October 16 announces a "permanent ceasefire" in the country's three war zones and green-lights the provision of humanitarian aid. In late November, Bashir's party is dissolved. On December 14, a Sudanese court convicts Bashir of graft and sentences him to serve two years in a correctional centre. On December 22, Sudan opens an investigation into crimes committed by Bashir in Darfur from 2003. He has long been wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague on charges of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity for his role in the conflict. Sudan announces a state of emergency and a near-total closure of its borders on March 16 to tackle the novel coronavirus pandemic. In April, inflation rockets to 99 percent as food prices soar. The UN decides in June to create a political mission to support the transition and to keep some 8,000 peacekeepers in Darfur until December. On June 9, Ali Kushayb, head of the Janjaweed militia wanted since 2007, is detained by the ICC for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur. A Sudanese prosecutor on June 15 says Bashir's extradition to The Hague is not "necessary". Ten days later, the international community pledges $1.8 billion for Sudan, in the face of an economic crisis sparked by the pandemic. On June 30, tens of thousands of protesters take to the streets in several cities and the capital calling for reforms and demanding justice for those killed in demonstrations. On July 10, Sudan abolishes the death penalty for blasphemy, outlaws circumcision and allows non-Muslims to consume alcohol. On July 21, Bashir goes on trial in Khartoum for the 1989 coup that brought him to power. The next day, the government announces the devaluation of the currency and the gradual scrapping of petrol subsidies. On July 23, the bodies of 28 army officers who had tried to overthrow Bashir in 1990 are found in a mass grave in Omdurman. On August 17, around 3,000 demonstrate to show their disappointment at the lack of progress a year after the transition accord. On August 25, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo makes the first visit in 15 years to the country by a US diplomatic chief. Sudan rules out an eventual normalisation of relations with Israel before the end of the political transition in 2022. On August 29, the government and rebels initial an accord aimed at ending 17 years of civil war. The deal is officially inked during a ceremony on August 31 in Juba. ang-acm/jmy/pjm/sw
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