On 11 April 2019 the Sudanese military removed President Omar al-Bashir after nearly four months of mass protests, ending his 30 year rule. Bashir, who had himself taken power in a 1989 coup and was wanted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes in Darfur, faced an uprising that began in December 2018 over rising bread prices and quickly grew into nationwide demands for his ouster and a transition to civilian rule. In the days before his fall, huge crowds staged a sit in outside the army headquarters in Khartoum, and some soldiers moved to protect protesters from security forces, signaling a split in the regime.
On 11 April the high command, led by Defense Minister and Vice President Lieutenant General Ahmed Awad Ibn Auf, announced that it had removed Bashir and placed him under arrest, dissolved the government and legislature, suspended the constitution, and declared a two year military led transition under a Transitional Military Council, with a state of emergency and curfew. Protesters celebrated Bashir's removal but rejected a military run transition and kept up their sit in. Ibn Auf, seen as too close to Bashir, resigned within a day and was replaced by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan.
Bashir was detained, later moved to prison, and convicted of corruption in December 2019.
Researched Details
Researched
Independent research, added record by record. Hover any label for what it means.
Target identified in Coup Atlas research: President Omar al-Bashir, removed by the military and placed under arrest, later imprisoned and convicted of corruption
RESEARCHED NAME
Key figures
Omar al-Bashir (president removed and arrested)
Ahmed Awad Ibn Auf (defense minister who announced the takeover, resigned within a day)
Abdel Fattah al-Burhan (who became head of the Transitional Military Council)
Sources
On 11 April 2019 the Sudanese military removed Omar al-Bashir from the presidency, dissolved the cabinet and the National Legislature, and announced a three month state of emergency to be followed by a two year transition, with Lieutenant General Ahmed Awad Ibn Auf declaring himself de facto head of state and suspending the constitution.
On 11 April 2019 Bashir was overthrown in a military coup and placed under arrest, and the military announced it had dissolved the government, suspended the constitution, and planned a military council to lead a transitional government for two years, after which elections would be held.
On 11 April al-Bashir was ousted from the presidency and placed under house arrest by the military, all political prisoners were reported to be released, and on the evening of 12 April the head of the Transitional Military Council, Awad Ibn Auf, announced his resignation following intense protests, choosing Abdel Fattah al-Burhan to succeed him.
After three decades of rule Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir was arrested and forced from power in a military coup, his government dissolved and a military council assuming control for two years, amid a popular uprising in which thousands took to the streets, though protest leaders rejected a military led transition and demanded a civilian government.
Coded fate house arrest is verified: Bashir was placed under arrest (some sources say house arrest, then moved to prison), later convicted of corruption in December 2019. Coded as a military coup on 04-11, which is accurate: unlike Armenia 2018 or arguably Algeria, this was a direct military takeover in which the army command removed and detained the sitting president, even though it came amid and responded to a mass popular uprising. The layering is the reverse of Armenia: a genuine military coup that rode a popular revolution, with protesters then resisting the military's attempt to control the transition. Ibn Auf's quick replacement by Burhan is noted. Sudan had a separate later coup in 2021, recorded elsewhere in the dataset.
Cross-Reference
Datasets agree. At least two of the three reference datasets we check against carry this event, and none of them disagrees about its date or its result.
Identifiers for finding this same event in the other datasets:
Coup Atlas research identifies the target as: President Omar al-Bashir, removed by the military and placed under arrest, later imprisoned and convicted of corruption.
Baseline coding: Incumbent executive removed from power. Recorded leader fate: deposed; placed under house arrest. The baseline file does not name individual targets; researched names are kept in a separate layer.
Baseline Dataset Citation
Cline Center Coup d’État Project Dataset, v2.2.2
Peyton, Buddy, Joseph Bajjalieh, Michael Martin, and Andrea Gerald. 2026. Cline Center Coup d’État Project Dataset. Cline Center for Advanced Social Research. V.2.2.2. February 17. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. doi: 10.13012/B2IDB-9651987_V10
⚑ This citation establishes the coded baseline record; use the claim-level sources above for the researched narrative.
Baseline Source-Document Entries
United News of Bangladesh
“Sudan’s military overthrows president amid bloody protests,” April 12, 2019
The Times
“Army ends 30-year rule of Sudan strongman: Sudan [Scot Region],” April 12, 2019
Morocco World News
“Military Coup Overthrows Al-Bashir: What Happens in Sudan Now?” April 12, 2019
Sudan Tribune
“Sudan’s third civilian uprising and the fourth military coup,” April 16, 2019
This is the citation trail carried by the baseline dataset, grouped by outlet and rejoined from the line-wrapped original. Coup Atlas has not independently re-checked every document; read the original before citing a specific claim. URLs the import damaged beyond safe repair are shown as plain text and listed in citations-report.md. How this list is built →