Tens of thousands of Sudanese marched toward the centre of the capital Khartoum on Thursday, cheering, singing and dancing in celebration as two senior officials said the military had forced longtime autocratic President Omar al-Bashir to step down after 30 years in power.
The circumstances of al-Bashir's apparent ouster after months of intensifying protests against his rule were not clear, however, and his whereabouts were unknown. The military told the nation to expect an "important statement" soon in an announcement on state TV in the morning.
Word of al-Bashir's removal comes just over a week after Algeria's President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, in power for 20 years, resigned in response to similar demonstrations. The mass protests bear striking resemblances to the popular uprisings in 2011 that swept across several Arab nations and ousted leaders in Tunisia, Libya, Egypt and Yemen.
As the Khartoum sit-in surged in size, the government responded with an increased crackdown. Security forces tried repeatedly to break up the sit-in since Saturday, in violence that killed at least 22 people. Thousands waited at the sit-in as crowds of protesters moved through the city converging on the site. The marchers waved flags, flashed "V for victory:" signs and sang and danced. Some rode on the roofs of cars, moving slowly and honking horns in celebration.
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