Abdel Bari Atwan, the editor-in-chief of Ray al-Youm newspaper, referred to the recent unrests in different Sudanese towns, stressing that the country's President Omar al-Bashir is paying the price of joining the Saudi-led coalition against Yemen and cutting off relations with Iran. RNA - "Since Omar al-Bashir severed relations with Iran and joined the Saudi-led coalition for war against Yemen, he has made three mistakes; first, he thought that the US will lift its economic and political siege on Sudan, while it was removed partially and Sudan remained in the list of states sponsoring terrorism," Atwan wrote.
"The second mistake that al-Bashir has made was that he thought the Persian Gulf Arab states which have participated in the Yemen war will give Sudan billions of dollars in aid in the form of financial aid, loans or investment to save the country from economic crisis, but it was not true and the financial aid that Sudan received from Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar was little compared with the 50-bln-dollar aid that its Northern neighbor (Egypt) has received from them although Cairo has even not participated in the Yemen war," he added.
Atwan underlined that al-Bashir's third mistake pertains to his expectation that the International Court of Justice (ICJ) would drop charges against him and call of his prosecution after leaving the resistance front and cutting off ties with Iran, but this never happened and is not likely to happen in the near future either.
According to Fars News Agancy, he added that al-Bashir who has grown disappointed at its new allies has now resorted to restoring ties with Moscow and Ankara to find a solution to the economic crisis in his country, noting that this move has displeased the UAE and Saudi Arabia to such an extent that they would kick Sudan out of the Saudi-led coalition against Yemen if they did not need the Sudanese forces as mercenaries in Yemen war.
The Sudanese cities and towns are the scene of popular protests against the government for improper life conditions and high prices of bread and other basic commodities as well as wrong military coalition with other countries, including Saudi Arabia.
At least 8 people have been killed in the protest rallies, but the opposition has put the number at 22.
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