3 yıl önce

Protesters killed as Sudanese forces crack down on fresh anti-coup rallies

October 25 military takeover — one of several in Sudan's post-independence history — has been accompanied by a security forces crackdown that has so far killed 60 people and wounded hundreds.

AP

Protesters in the capital were beating drums, chanting revolutionary songs and holding up posters of people killed since the coup.

At least three Sudanese protesters have been killed while taking part in the latest mass demonstrations demanding a transition to civilian rule after a coup.

Three unidentified protesters were killed as they took part in demonstrations on Thursday in the capital Khartoum and it's twin city of Omdurman, said the Central Committee of Sudanese Doctors, part of the pro-democracy movement.

The latest killing brings the overall death toll since the October 25 military coup to 60, the committee added.

Singing, beating drums, and holding up posters of others killed in demonstrations since the military takeover, protesters in the capital Khartoum shouted defiant slogans against the army.

Many protesters in Khartoum were seen wounded and struggling with breathing difficulties due to the heavy firing of tear gas, according to the witnesses.

"Our marches will continue until we restore our revolution and our civilian government," said Mojataba Hussein, a 23-year-old protester, in Khartoum.

Another demonstrator, 22-year-old Samar al Tayeb, vowed that "we will not stop until we get our country back".

Thursday's protests broke out despite heightened security and the closure of main streets leading to the presidential palace and the army headquarters.

Demonstrations also erupted in other cities including Port Sudan in the east, Atbara in the north and Wad Madani in the south, witnesses said.

The rallies are the latest since Sudan's armed forces led by General Abdel Fattah al Burhan staged a power grab on October 25, sparking international condemnation.

The coup, which saw the civilian leadership ousted and detained, derailed a rocky transition toward full democracy that had started after the April 2019 ouster of veteran autocrat Omar al Bashir.

The military takeover — one of several in Sudan's post-independence history — has triggered mass demonstrations and a bloody crackdown that has left at least 57 people dead and hundreds wounded, according to the independent Doctors' Committee.

Military is fully in charge

On Sunday, the post-Bashir civilian leader, prime minister Abdalla Hamdok, resigned, leaving the military fully in charge.

He had been detained in the coup and held for weeks before being reinstated in November — a move the protest movement rejected as a "betrayal" and a fig leaf for army rule.

In his resignation speech, Hamdok warned that Sudan was at a "dangerous crossroads threatening its very survival".

On Tuesday, the United States, European Union, Britain and Norway warned the military against naming their own successor to Hamdok, saying they would "not support a prime minister or government appointed without the involvement of a broad range of civilian stakeholders".