Sudan and rebel forces signed on Saturday a key peace treaty, nearly a year and a half since mass protests ousted president Omar al-Bashir from power.

The removal of Bashir paved the way for a peace deal with the rebels who had fought his iron-fisted rule for decades.

Here is a recap of events since Bashir was toppled.

- Bashir rule ends -

On April 11, 2019, four months after mass protests sparked by a hike in bread prices morph into wider demands for reforms, Sudan's military authorities announce they have removed Bashir from power.

He is replaced by a transitional military government.

Thousands of demonstrators defy a curfew and remain camped in front of army headquarters. The protest movement demands a civilian government.

Negotiations between ruling generals and protest leaders end on May 20 without a deal on a democratic transition.

- Bloody crackdown -

On June 3, armed men in military fatigues move on the protest camp outside army headquarters and disperse thousands of protesters.

Dozens are killed in a days-long crackdown.

The Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a feared paramilitary group that sprang from the notorious Janjaweed militia accused by rights groups of committing war crimes in Darfur, is blamed for the violence.

Army chiefs announce a probe.

The military calls for elections within nine months.

Protesters denounce a putsch.

After both sides signal they are ready to talk again, Ethiopia and African Union mediators present new proposals for a transition.

- Power deal -

On July 5, the two sides agree in principle on an accord providing for power sharing before transition to civilian rule.

On August 17, the military and protest leaders sign the hard-won "constitutional declaration" and a sovereign council is formed three days later.

- Peace talks -

In October, the government and rebel groups begin peace talks in Juba, South Sudan.

Sudan on October 16 announces a "permanent ceasefire" in the country's three war zones and green-lights the provision of humanitarian aid.

In late November, Bashir's party is dissolved.

- Bashir convicted -

On December 14, a Sudanese court convicts Bashir of graft and sentences him to serve two years in a correctional centre.

On December 22, Sudan opens an investigation into crimes committed by Bashir in Darfur from 2003.

He has long been wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague on charges of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity for his role in the conflict.

- Spreading unrest -

Sudan announces a state of emergency and a near-total closure of its borders on March 16 2020 to tackle the novel coronavirus pandemic.

In April, inflation rockets to 99 percent as food prices soar.

The UN decides in June to create a political mission to support the transition and to keep some 8,000 peacekeepers in Darfur until December.

On June 9, Ali Kushayb, head of the Janjaweed militia wanted since 2007, is detained by the ICC for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur.

A Sudanese prosecutor on June 15 says Bashir's extradition to The Hague is not "necessary".

Ten days later, the international community pledges $1.8 billion for Sudan, in the face of an economic crisis.

On June 30, tens of thousands of protesters take to the streets in several cities and the capital calling for reforms and demanding justice for those killed in demonstrations.

- Bashir tried for 1989 coup -

On July 10, Sudan abolishes the death penalty for blasphemy and allows non-Muslims to consume alcohol.

On July 21, Bashir goes on trial in Khartoum for the 1989 coup that brought him to power.

The next day, the government announces the devaluation of the currency and the gradual scrapping of petrol subsidies.

- Peace accord -

On August 31, the government and rebels officially ink an accord aimed at ending 17 years of civil war, during a ceremony in Juba.

The treaty is formally signed on October 3.

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