Sudan Purges Professors as Army Leader Seeks to Quell Dissent

(Bloomberg) -- Sudan's army-led government fired dozens of professors, civil servants and administrators in what pro-democracy activists said was a bid to tighten control over an education sector that's a bastion of dissent to October's coup.

The move affecting about 30 of Sudan's national universities and its education ministries sparked yet more protests in the North African nation. Following changes at the central bank and state media, it's the latest drive by military leader Abdel Fattah al-Burhan to reverse appointments made after the 2019 overthrow of dictator Omar al-Bashir.

Officials “have been removed and replaced by others who are loyal to the Islamic movement,” said Waleed Ali Ahmed, a council member of the Sudanese Professionals Association, a coalition of trade unions that leads demonstrations. “The old regime is back.”

A spokesman for the Sovereign Council, the quasi-presidential body headed by al-Burhan, didn't respond to a request for comment. Bashir's regime espoused a form of Islamist government, and despite his ouster by the army during mass protests many Bashir-era officials still support the generals.

Sudan's rulers are struggling to reassert control over the country and its economy after October's putsch, which derailed a democratic transition backed by Western countries. Foreign donors suspended crucial budget aid, leaving authorities struggling to maintain state spending just as soaring food prices mean almost half the population may face shortages.

At least 92 people have been killed in crackdowns since the coup, according to the Central Committee of Sudanese Doctors. Sixteen protesters were injured by live gunfire in the capital, Khartoum, on Wednesday, it said.

Those educators recently dismissed included senior officials in the Ministry of Higher Education and General Education, as well as board members at major seats of learning including the University of Khartoum and Sudan University, the SPA's Ahmed said.