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This recent flood of cash for Sudan's military rulers is reminiscent of Saudi and UAE actions following the coup in Egypt by General Sisi against democratically elected President Mohamed Morsi in 2014.
Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates said Sunday they had agreed to send Sudan US$3 billion worth of aid, throwing a lifeline to the country's new military leaders after protests led to the ouster of President Omar al-Bashir.
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Sudanese Military Finds $7M in Cash in Bashir's Home
The two Gulf countries will deposit US$500 million with the Sudanese central bank and send the rest in the form of food, medicine and petroleum products, their state news agencies said in parallel statements.
Sudan's Transitional Military Council (TMC) is under pressure from protesters who have kept up a sit-in outside the Defence Ministry since Bashir was ousted on April 11. They demonstrated in large numbers over the past three days, pressing for a rapid handover to civilian rule.
TMC head Abdel Fattah al-Burhan told state TV that the council had received many blueprints on how to manage the transitional period and that the formation of a joint military-civilian council - one of the demands put forward by Sudanese activists - was being considered.
"The role of the military council complements the uprising and the blessed revolution," said Burhan, adding that the TMC was committed to handing power over to the people.
The aid from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates is the first major publicly announced assistance to Sudan from Gulf states in several years.
Saudi Arabia, UAE effort to hijack Sudan popular uprising is a dangerous repeat of their destructive role in subverting 2011 Arab uprisings. https://t.co/b1RNx2UvEn
— Marc Lynch (@abuaardvark) April 21, 2019
"This is to strengthen its financial position, ease the pressure on the Sudanese pound and increase stability in the exchange rate," the Saudi Press Agency said.
The two Gulf states have ties with Burhan and his deputy, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, through their participation in the Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen.
Bashir and his military generals had granted more than 10,000 Sudanese troops for the Saudi-led war in Yemen. Saudi Arabia and the UAE have been accused of seeing Sudanese troops as disposable as they are the main troops deployed for the coalition's ground operation in Yemen in order to avoid using their own troops.
This recent flood of cash for Sudan's military rulers is reminiscent of Saudi and UAE actions following the coup in Egypt by Abdel-Fattah el Sisi against democratically elected President Mohamed Morsi in 2014. Within hours of Sisi's takeover, the UAE and Saudi Arabia pledged more than US$10 billion for the new coup regime in Egypt in an effort to guarantee the survival of a government to their interests.
You can always count on UAE and Saudi Arabia to thwart any attempts to bring democracy to the Arab world.. the idea that people of Sudan rejected military dictatorship of Bashir gives them (UAE and KSA) nightmares
— Asma (@LibyanBentBladi) April 21, 2019
$3 billion in support, with strings attached of course https://t.co/Eb7RLJoo4U
Burhan also confirmed for the first time that Bashir and a number of former officials, including presidential aide Nafie Ali Nafie, acting party head Ahmed Haroun and former first vice president Ali Osman Taha, are being held at a high-security prison in Khartoum North.
Burhan said authorities had found 7 million euros (US$7.8 million) in Bashir's home, along with US$350,000, slightly more than previously reported.
Sudan has been suffering from a deepening economic crisis that has caused cash shortages and long queues at bakeries and petrol stations.
Analysts have blamed the crisis on economic mismanagement, corruption, and the impact of U.S. sanctions, as well as the loss of oil revenue when South Sudan seceded in 2011.
Burhan said a committee could travel to the United States for discussions about lifting Sudan from the list by next week. Washington has said Sudan will not be removed from the list as long as the military is in power.
The designation makes Sudan ineligible for desperately needed debt relief and financing from international lenders.
Saudi Arabia and UAE donated an aid package of $3 billion to Sudan on Sunday.
— Hamza Mohamed (@Hamza_Africa) April 21, 2019
Tonight in Khartoum, protesters are chanting "we dont want Saudi support..." pic.twitter.com/YrqhOCdhw7
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