Like a spot of oil

As the world's eyes are on Syria along the Turkish border, something else is underway in one of Africa's largest countries. Pass it on: Sudan seeks to be free from Bashir's dictatorship.

The Arab Spring that started in Tunisia early last year has sent political shock waves across the Arab world. One spring later, internal and regional power relations have been significantly altered. In Tunisia, Egypt and Libya, new governing coalitions have stood up, while leaders beyond those countries have felt the need to respond through oppression or some kind of reform. The current fronteer of the Arab spring seems to be situated in Syria, where the Assad regime is entrenched in a bitter struggle for survival in ever increasing international isolation and blind violence.

However, since less than two week, unrest has come over Sudan, too. This predominantly muslim country, inhabited by over 30m people, has been under Bashir's rule since 1989. Bashir, who has faced an international arrest warrant for years, rules with an iron fist, and is held responsible for the death of at least hundreds of thousands of people, most notably in the oil-rich area of Darfur. Torture is a daily risk and reality for anyone seeking to oppose his rule.