This archive report was first published on 15 August 2019.
On August 14, 2019, Sudanese protest leaders expressed outrage over the erasure of murals and graffiti that symbolized the country's uprising. The Forces for Freedom and Change, which led the months-long protest movement that brought down long-time ruler Omar al-Bashir, accused the military authorities of systematically erasing the murals.
The colorful murals and slogans that appeared on the walls of Khartoum during the early stages of the protest were painted over in recent days. These murals had become a symbol of the popular nature of the uprising, which was led by young activists rather than engineered by political opposition.
Most of the murals and graffiti were found on walls outside of the army headquarters in Khartoum, where protesters camped out for weeks on end. The Forces for Freedom and Change described the erasure of the murals as an 'ugly act and a pathetic attempt to suppress the beauty, the letter and the spirit of the revolution.'
