Internet Shutdowns

• Past

  National shutdown

  Internet services were interrupted for 3 hours at a time, from 08:00 to 11:00 local time (UTC +2) on 20 June 2021 for the duration of the secondary school exam period, with Cloudflare observing the largest drop in mobile Internet access. Sudan’s public prosecutor ordered Internet service providers (ISPs) to shut down mobile Internet connection upon the request of the Ministry of Education. This is the second year that Sudan cut off Internet services to prevent students from leaking exam questions. The shutdown sparked public outcry as banking, health, electronic payment and other services were disrupted during high transaction hours in the Sudanese working day.  

  Sudan

  • Start 20 June 2021 07:30 UTC
  • End 20 June 2021 10:00 UTC
  • Total Duration 2 hours
• Past

  National shutdown

  Internet services were interrupted for 3 hours, from 08:00 to 11:00 local time (UTC +2) on 19 June 2021, for the secondary school exams. Cloudflare observed the largest drop in mobile Internet access. Sudan’s public prosecutor ordered Internet service providers (ISPs) to shut down mobile Internet connections upon the request of the Ministry of Education. This is the second year Sudan has cut off Internet services to prevent students from leaking exam questions. The shutdown sparked public outcry as banking, health, electronic payment, and other services were disrupted during high transaction hours on Sudanese working days.  

  Sudan

  • Start 19 June 2021 08:00 UTC
  • End 19 June 2021 10:00 UTC
  • Total Duration 2 hours

September 2020

• Past

  National shutdown

  Sudan

  • Start 16 September 2020 06:00 UTC
  • End 16 September 2020 09:00 UTC
  • Total Duration 3 hours

May 2020

• Past

  Regional shutdown

  Mobile Internet

  Kassala

  There have been reports of mobile Internet services being suspended or severely limited in the Sudanese town of Kassala from 14—16 May 2020 in an attempt to maintain calm in the city after inter-tribal violence. A reporter based in Kassala said Internet services provided by Zain and MTN were restricted around noon on 14 May and returned to normal in the evening of 16 May. ADSL services continued as normal. Internet shutdowns during protests or civil unrest impact citizens' ability to get accurate information from government sources when they need it most. It also becomes harder for citizens to contact family members and friends in other parts of the country or in other countries. We encourage all governments to #KeepItOn.

  Sudan

  • Start 14 May 2020 12:00 UTC
  • End 16 May 2020 00:00 UTC
  • Total Duration 1 day, 12 hours

June 2019

• Past

  National shutdown

  Internet Services

  The entire country of Sudan has now been without Internet for 13 days. The government has shut down all mobile Internet and most of the hard-wired connections in the country in an effort to smother pro-democracy protests. NPR's Eyder Peralta reports that amid a faltering revolution, lack of Internet has changed life in little and big ways.

  Sudan

  • Start 3 June 2019 00:00 UTC
  • End 9 July 2019 00:00 UTC
  • Total Duration 36 days

April 2019

• Past

  Service blocking

  Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp, Instagram, Telegram

  Khartoum

  In April 2019, Sudan experienced multiple internet disruptions, especially during escalating protests against President Omar al-Bashir's rule. Protesters converging on army headquarters in Khartoum led to restrictions on social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and WhatsApp, which were imposed by telecom operators such as MTN and Sudatel. The shutdowns were part of broader measures to limit communication and media coverage, particularly as demonstrations intensified. These restrictions were later compounded by widespread power outages, which disabled nearly 45% of telecommunications infrastructure during key moments of the protests

  Sudan

  • Start 7 April 2019 00:00 UTC
  • End 8 April 2019 00:00 UTC
  • Total Duration 1 day

December 2018

• Past

  Service blocking

  Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp, Instagram

  Sudan

  There have been media reports that Sudanese authorities are blocking access to popular social media platforms amidst nationwide anti-government protests triggered by an economic crisis. The report quotes the head of Sudan's National Intelligence and Security Service, Salah Abdallah saying "There was a discussion in the government about blocking social media sites and in the end it was decided to block them."

  Sudan

  • Start 21 December 2018 00:00 UTC
  • End 26 February 2019 00:00 UTC
  • Total Duration 67 days