Following his statements regarding the revolution, Sudanese activists revolt against Al Burhan

Statements made by the Commander-in-Chief of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, in which he declared the end of the period of peaceful protests and glorified the rifle (use of weapons); sparked widespread anger amongst Sudanese activists, who responded with a massive social media campaign under the hashtag “Glory be to the tires,” in reference to the popular uprising that toppled the Muslim Brotherhood regime in (April 2019).

“The tires” in question, refer to car tires, which activists used to set on fire during their demonstrations as part of the revolution against the Islamic Movement regime led by ousted President Omar Al-Bashir. The revolution experienced a relatively quick end in a military coup led by Al-Burhan, followed by a widespread campaign of arrests and repression amidst international and domestic criticism, as well as accusations that the coup’s goal was to restore members of the Muslim Brotherhood to power.

Al-Burhan’s statements, made during a civil service conference in Port Sudan, included the assertion that “The time for closing the roads has come to an end, alongside those who used to attach the concept of glory to the tires, furthermore, glory -now- belongs only to the rifle.” Activists believed that such statements could very well be predicting an imminent crackdown, fearing a repeat of the revolution.

Yasser Arman, head of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement – Revolutionary Democratic Current, stated, “Glory to the tires, yes to the December revolution, and no to the April war,” referring to the two-year military conflict between the Sudanese Army, supported by its Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated militias on the one hand, and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on the other.

For his part, Nour El-Din Babiker, Spokesperson for the Sudanese Congress Party (SCoP), believed that Al-Burhan’s statement about the resumption of civil disobedience and protests “unmasks the truth about this war, which isn’t for the sake of the homeland or dignity, but for power.”

An online page called the “Old Omdurman Resistance Committees” wrote that the Sudanese Army commander-in-chief’s speech “mocked the revolution of this great nation and belittled their means of struggle.” continuing, “Glory and all glory be to the tires, because they represented a fire of rage in the face of oppression.”

The Unified Women’s Coordination to Stop the War described Al-Burhan’s statements as “an attempt to ignore the facts, criminalize the revolution, and evade his responsibility for reducing the country to its current state.”

Under the aforementioned hashtag, thousands of activists expressed their anger at Al-Burhan’s statements, believing they confirmed his fear of the popular movement against the rule of the Sudanese Army and militias. Others added the phrase “shame on the rifle,” expressing their rejection of military rule.

A number of activists used artificial intelligence technology to formula a drawing of Al-Burhan sitting on car tires, a reference to the Sudanese Army’s acts of hijacking the revolution and then executing a coup against it on a later dater. Some also believed that Al-Burhan was trying to suppress any protests in the bud, fearing he would meet the same fate as Al-Bashir.

Press reports recently revealed a widespread campaign of arrests and assassinations targeting individuals who participated in the December revolution, rejected the war, and demanded the return of civilian rule. This was considered a preemptive measure against any movement similar to that of (2019).

Security forces launched a widespread campaign of arrests and repression during the mass demonstrations that erupted immediately after the coup in (October 2021), in which more than (120) protesters were killed.