Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, who has been indicated by the International Criminal Court over war crimes is coming under closer global scrutiny following complaints that Khartoum had reverted to severe repression after the south seceded in July.

The political upheavals in the Arab world, especially revolutions in the neighbouring countries of Egypt and Libya, have made the government fearful of a potential uprising.

Since July, there has been a sustained crackdown on the civil society, academics, political parties and the media. Early this month, the government deregistered the political party SPLM-North, raising stakes in the relations between the world’s newest neighbours.
President Al-Bashir has been indicted by the ICC for genocide in Sudan’s Darfur region.

A new report by Sudanese human rights monitor, the African Centre for Justice and Peace Studies, noted that following the secession of the South on July 9, Khartoum has found itself with the challenge of re-defining the foundation of the state on its most basic levels, but in an environment characterised by severe repression.

“The secession of the South brings economic trauma with the loss of significant oil revenues to the North. Rising prices are also increasing popular discontent,” the report says.

“There are troubling signs that the ruling northern National Congress Party intends to pursue actions that will lead to further international isolation of Sudan and that the gains of the interim period will be lost during the processes of constitutional amendment,” it adds.

Apart from the indictment by the International Criminal Court, President Al-Bashir is grappling with sanctions imposed on Sudan by Western powers over human rights abuses in Darfur.

The human rights monitor says that there are indications that the country is moving towards a more repressive system of governance based upon the NCP’s particular interpretation of Islamic law.

The US recently offered to remove Khartoum from the list of countries sponsoring terrorism.