Foreign interests in Sudan after the ouster of Omar al-Bashir

Abdelrahman Mohamed, World / Business Editor

After the Sudanese demonstration succeeded in overthrowing the longtime dictator Omar al-Bashir, foreign powers are playing an outsize role, most notably in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

Protesters who spent months demonstrating against al-Bashir’s three-decade rule are refusing to accept the military transitional council that replaced him earlier this month.

But Riyadh and Abu Dhabi see an opportunity to consolidate strategic interests.

Their main concerns are keeping Iran out of the Red Sea, crimping Qatar and Turkey’s regional ambitions and maintaining a Sudanese troop presence on their side in Yemen’s war.