Sudan's Protesters Hope Cheerful Staying-Power Will Oust Army

Demonstrators ride atop a train from Atbara as they approach the military headquarters in Khartoum, Sudan April 23, 2019. (Reuters)
Demonstrators ride atop a train from Atbara as they approach the military headquarters in Khartoum, Sudan April 23, 2019. (Reuters)
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Sudan's Protesters Hope Cheerful Staying-Power Will Oust Army

Demonstrators ride atop a train from Atbara as they approach the military headquarters in Khartoum, Sudan April 23, 2019. (Reuters)
Demonstrators ride atop a train from Atbara as they approach the military headquarters in Khartoum, Sudan April 23, 2019. (Reuters)

They come from all walks of life, of all ages and many political persuasions. But the thousands of protesters sitting outside the Sudanese Defense Ministry in Khartoum all share one thing: the cheerful conviction that, if they can just stay there long enough, democracy will come about.

Already, their sit-in has prompted the military to topple Omar Hassan al-Bashir, autocratic president of 30 years. Now they believe their good-natured rainbow of resistance can push those same generals to hand over power swiftly to civilians, said a Reuters report Wednesday.

A woman in a black full-face veil discusses the merits of democracy as a vendor sells corn at a discount, making a fortune. One couple mount a podium to take their marriage vows.

“We are lions!” intones a rapper, his audience swaying to the beat.

Unfocused and eclectic it may be, but it only took the crowd - whose numbers swell in the cool of the evening into the hundreds of thousands - five days to bring down Bashir, who was detained by the army on April 11 to the delight of millions.

Now those protesters, spread over about 2 sq km (0.8 square miles) of central Khartoum, want the generals’ Transitional Military Council to bring forward the elections that it promises to hold within two years.

Opposition groups and the military may have been trading threats over the transition, but that has not dampened the cheerful determination of the protesters.

Women outnumber men in the throng, which is a mix of teenagers and older people, conservatives and liberals, doctors, lawyers and artisans.

Designers apply their skills to making banners and placards.

“The motifs are to send a message to the people to support democracy,” said Khalid Ehab, 24, who specializes in banners of fierce-looking people carrying flags.

Teenagers bang stones against a bridge in solidarity with calls for democracy, and fling water down at passers-by. Others are more earnest, holding posters of civilians and army officers who were allegedly tortured and killed in Bashir’s prisons, said Reuters.

Osay Awad, 22, used to sell a cob of corn from his battered wooden stall for 15 Sudanese pounds, but out of enthusiasm for the revolution slashed the price to 10.

Business is booming; he sells 500 a day, compared to 170 before the sit-in began, and he hasn’t left the spot since the day after Bashir was toppled.

Like many others, he sleeps on the dusty pavement. Asked what type of leader he would like to see run his country, he says: “I have no candidate. I’m just here to sell corn and support people.”

All the protesters want the old-guard generals out, but many are keen to get the support of young officers; a traditional army song competes with the sound of an opposition figure trying to fire up crowds with promises of a brighter future.

The protesters do want to assert some control. Teenagers frisk anyone entering the area to make sure weapons stay out.

The military leaders have offered some concessions, sacking some officials and announcing the arrest of others, including two of Bashir’s brothers.

But they insist that, while they are willing to accept a civilian transitional government, ultimate authority will remain in their hands until elections are held.

Wejd Mohammed, a medical student covered from head to toe in a niqab, says that “democracy will bring economic prosperity.”

In a scene that would have been unthinkable under Bashir, a member of a rebel group that fought his forces in the desert province of Darfur stands on a makeshift podium and speaks his mind.

“The previous regime took all of our money and made us poor,” he says. “Sudan needs to be one nation.”



What to Know About the Flash Floods in Texas That Killed over 100 People

 Firefighters from Ciudad Acuña, Mexico, transport a recovered body on the flooded Guadalupe River days after a flash flood swept through the area, Monday, July 7, 2025, in Ingram, Texas. (AP)
Firefighters from Ciudad Acuña, Mexico, transport a recovered body on the flooded Guadalupe River days after a flash flood swept through the area, Monday, July 7, 2025, in Ingram, Texas. (AP)
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What to Know About the Flash Floods in Texas That Killed over 100 People

 Firefighters from Ciudad Acuña, Mexico, transport a recovered body on the flooded Guadalupe River days after a flash flood swept through the area, Monday, July 7, 2025, in Ingram, Texas. (AP)
Firefighters from Ciudad Acuña, Mexico, transport a recovered body on the flooded Guadalupe River days after a flash flood swept through the area, Monday, July 7, 2025, in Ingram, Texas. (AP)

Flash floods in Texas killed at least 100 people over the Fourth of July holiday weekend and left others still missing, including girls attending a summer camp. The devastation along the Guadalupe River, outside of San Antonio, has drawn a massive search effort as officials face questions over their preparedness and the speed of their initial actions.

Here's what to know about the deadly flooding, the colossal weather system that drove it in and around Kerr County, Texas, and ongoing efforts to identify victims.

Massive rain hit at just the wrong time, in a flood-prone place

The floods grew to their worst at the midpoint of a long holiday weekend when many people were asleep.

The Texas Hill Country in the central part of the state is naturally prone to flash flooding due to the dry dirt-packed areas where the soil lets rain skid along the surface of the landscape instead of soaking it up. Friday's flash floods started with a particularly bad storm that dropped most of its 12 inches (30 centimeters) of rain in the dark early morning hours.

After a flood watch notice midday Thursday, the National Weather Service office issued an urgent warning around 4 a.m. that raised the potential of catastrophic damage and a severe threat to human life. By at least 5:20 a.m., some in the Kerrville City area say water levels were getting alarmingly high. The massive rain flowing down hills sent rushing water into the Guadalupe River, causing it to rise 26 feet (8 meters) in just 45 minutes.

Death toll is expected to rise and the number of missing is uncertain

In Kerr County, home to youth camps in the Texas Hill Country, searchers have found the bodies of 75 people, including 27 children, Sheriff Larry Leitha said Monday morning. Fatalities in nearby counties brought the total number of deaths to 94 as of Monday afternoon.

Ten girls and a counselor were still unaccounted for at Camp Mystic, a Christian summer camp along the river.

For past campers, the tragedy turned happy memories into grief.

Beyond the Camp Mystic campers unaccounted for, the number of missing from other nearby campgrounds and across the region had not been released.

Gov. Greg Abbott on Sunday had said that there were 41 people confirmed to be unaccounted for across the state and more could be missing.

Kerrville City Manager Dalton Rice said during a Monday news conference he couldn't give an estimate of the number of people still missing, only saying “it is a lot.”

Officials face scrutiny over flash flood warnings

Survivors have described the floods as a “pitch black wall of death” and said they received no emergency warnings.

Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly, who lives along the Guadalupe River, said Saturday that “nobody saw this coming.” Officials have referred to it as a “100-year-flood,” meaning that the water levels were highly unlikely based on the historical record.

And records behind those statistics don’t always account for human-caused climate change. Though it’s hard to connect specific storms to a warming planet so soon after they occur, meteorologists say that a warmer atmosphere can hold more moisture and allow severe storms to dump even more rain.

Additionally, officials have come under scrutiny about why residents and youth summer camps along the river were not alerted sooner than 4 a.m. or told to evacuate.

Rice said Monday that he did not immediately know if there had been any communication between law enforcement and the summer camps between 1 a.m. and 4 a.m. on Friday. But Rice said various factors, including spotty cell service in some of the more isolated areas of Kerr County and cell towers that might have gone out of service during the weather, could have hindered communication.

Rice said officials want to finish the search and rescue and then review possible issues with cell towers, radios and emergency alerts.

Officials noted that the public can grow weary from too many flooding alerts or forecasts that turn out to be minor.

Kerr county officials said they had presented a proposal for a more robust flood warning system, similar to a tornado warning system, but that members of the public reeled at the cost.

Monumental clearing and rebuilding effort

The flash floods have erased campgrounds and torn homes from their foundations.

"It’s going to be a long time before we’re ever able to clean it up, much less rebuild it," Kelly said Saturday after surveying the destruction from a helicopter.

Other massive flooding events have driven residents and business owners to give up, including in areas struck last year by Hurricane Helene.

President Donald Trump said he would likely visit the flood zone on Friday.

AP photographers have captured the scale of the destruction, and one of Texas' largest rescue and recovery efforts.