VICTOR KGOMOESWANA, AUTHOR OF AFRICA IS OPEN FOR BUSINESS

Since December, Sudan’s capital of Khartoum has been swarming with protesters demanding democratic elections and freedoms rather than autocratic rule. The government has responded with physical violence and online censorship. From December through April, the government ordered its telecommunications companies to block social media and to periodically disable access to the Internet nationwide.
Nevertheless, the demonstrators forced longtime dictator Omar al-Bashir to step down, and have begun negotiating with the military for a transitional civilian government.
On June 5, Sudan’s Internet was disrupted yet again, starting with mobile phone service providers MTN and Mobitel and spreading to Sudan’s other mobile services. At the same time, security forces launched another crackdown on a sit-in in Khartoum. Reports circulated that the regime had unleashed the notorious janjaweed militia — responsible for committing genocide in Darfur a decade ago — on the protesters. More than 100 civilians were reported killed, as the regime methodically shut off communication throughout the country. On Monday, the regime severed Sudan’s remaining Internet access, resulting in a “near total blackout.” Earlier, the government primarily shut down social media platforms; this blackout affects the entire Internet.