Protests have taken place in towns and cities across Sudan since mid-December 2018 objecting to price increases and calling on President Omar al-Bashir, in power for 29 years, to step down. In response, government forces have used live ammunition on protesters, killing scores and injuring many more, and arbitrarily detained hundreds of civilians in particular, opposition party members, protesters, students, journalists, doctors and lawyers. In February, president al-Bashir declared a year-long state of emergency, reshuffled key government positions, banned protests and established emergency courts to prosecute violations of the emergency decree. Meanwhile, during armed conflicts between government and rebel forces, government-led attacks on civilians continued in Darfur, Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile states, preventing the return of millions of displaced people to their home areas. Sudan has failed to conduct credible investigations into alleged crimes by its own forces or cooperate with the International Criminal Court, which has issued warrants for the arrest of President Omar al-Bashir and other men in connection with atrocity crimes in Darfur.