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Not far from the capital of Sudan, Khartoum, the epicenter of an uprising that overthrew the autocratic ruler Omar al-Bashir, dozens of camel merchants are unaware of the biggest political upheaval in the country since decades.
"What events? We have everything we need in the desert – water, food and livestock, we have no demand," said Ali Habiballah, 52, camel trader in El Molih, a vast expanse of desert kilometers west of Khartoum.
Habiballah, with his deep black eyes and leathery skin, the fruit of his labor under a hot sun for years, buys and sells camels, just like his father and grandfather before him.
"I love the desert and drinking camel milk is enough to make me happy," Habiballah told AFP during a visit to the El Molih Camel Market.
"We do not care about politics, I do not even go to Khartoum," he said. His young son, dressed in traditional clothes and sitting in a leather saddle, is riding on camels.
Sudan has been in a political crisis since 19 December, when demonstrations erupted against the fact that the price of bread has tripled by the Bashir government.
The protests quickly degenerated into a national anti-Bashir campaign that eventually led the army to overthrow it in April, ending its three-decade-long Iranian rule.
& # 39; Even for us & # 39;
The daily camel market of El Molih is a hit with tourists visiting Sudan.
Some camels are sent to slaughterhouses to feed on meat, but superior breeds are exported to the Gulf countries to participate in races.
In terms of politics, many traders in El Molih just laugh.
"With or without Bashir, this country is the same for us," said Ahmed Mohamed Ahmed, camel salesman, sitting in a mud house used to store animal feed.
"All we are interested in is whether the price of livestock goes up or down," he said, sipping a hot tea.
In the distance, a mobile crane was loading a camel on a truck heading for the border to be sold in Egypt, Israel or the Gulf.
The price of each camel depends on the reason why the animal is sold.
A camel sold for meat exports earns between 60,000 and 90,000 Sudanese pounds (1,330 to 2,000 dollars) to slaughterhouses.
And a camel intended for racing in the Gulf countries can yield up to 1.5 million Sudanese pounds.
& # 39; Bashir, our father & # 39;
Thousands of Sudanese nomads live in the vast desert areas of North Darfur, North Kordofan and along the border with Chad, Egypt and Libya.
Many came from Arab tribes who supported Bashir's brutal war against Afro-ethnic rebels in Darfur that broke out in 2003.
While many traders say they are not interested in politics, others have strong opinions.
"The Arabs would be happy if Bashir was still there," said Ali Salim Hamid, 35, owner of 200 camels.
"I want Bashir, our father, to be back," added Hamid, a native of North Kordofan, one of Bashir's former support bases.
For him, the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) "have nothing to do" with a raid on a protest camp in Khartoum on June 3, which killed many protesters.
Protesters and human rights groups have accused RSF, which has its origins in fears Arab Janjaweed militias that were launched in Darfur, to lead this raid.
But his commander, General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo – better known as Himeidti – defended his men, insisting that there had been an attempt to distort the image of the paramilitaries.
"Previously, camel dealers were the target of thieves in the desert, but it is Himeidti who took them and handed them over to the authorities," said Hamid.
"Thanks to him, our business continues."
Dagalo, from Darfur, is the deputy head of Sudan's ruling military council, which took power after the fall of Bashir.
In an interview with AFP in 2016, Dagalo said he was selling camels and sheep to Sudan, Libya and Chad.
For people like Hamid, it does not matter who trains the new administration in Sudan.
"A civilian or military government – this is of little importance to us as long as it does not interfere in our affairs," he said.
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