The Central Committee of Sudanese Doctors said that a protester was killed in demonstrations, Sunday, following being hit in the neck by a tear gas canister, bringing the death toll since the October 25 events to 62.
Violent confrontations erupted between the protesters and the Sudanese security forces near the presidential palace in Khartoum, according to Sky News Arabia sources.
Security forces once more used tear gas and sound bombs extensively, to prevent protesters from reaching the palace in the center of the capital.
Member of the Sovereignty Council, Abdul-Baqi Al-Zubayr, had pledged, during a security meeting he chaired, Saturday, not to use violence once morest protesters and to hold accountable any “regular” convicted of looting or looting, and also stressed care not to use violence inside hospitals and health facilities once morest peaceful demonstrators.
Less than 24 hours following the United Nations called on the Sudanese parties to sit in dialogue to resolve the crisis afflicting the country, new rallies were launched in Khartoum and more than 20 other cities.
And according to Sky News Arabia sources, the protest processions arrived in Khartoum on the Presidential Palace Street, to demand the withdrawal of the army from political life and to make way for a civilian government.
Despite the strict security measures and the closure of the main bridges linking the three cities of the capital, Khartoum, Omdurman and Bahri, thousands of Sudanese took to the streets, in a recurring scene over the past weeks.
Prior to the start of the new rallies, the security authorities evacuated the areas and markets near the presidential palace from pedestrians, and ordered shop owners to close them and leave the area.
The Sudanese Professionals Association, which led protests that led to the overthrow of Omar al-Bashir’s regime in 2019, affirmed its rejection of the initiative launched by Volker Peretz, the Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General in Sudan.
The assembly said in a statement that the initiative “seeks to push for normalization with the military council,” noting that “the solution to the crisis lies in overthrowing the military authority and bringing its membership to justice.”
While some armed movements welcomed the initiative and some declared conditional acceptance of it, the movement of Abdel Wahed Muhammad Nour, which is not a signatory to the peace agreement, rejected it, and considered it a step on the way to support the “coup” line.
The political crisis in Sudan deepened a few days ago, with Abdullah Hamdok resigning as prime minister under pressure from the street.
And on Saturday, the United Nations said it would invite military leaders, political parties and other Sudanese factions to participate in discussions aimed at ending a crisis that erupted with the overthrow of the civilian component on October 25.
United Nations mediation over the weeks following the army’s moves succeeded in restoring Hamdok to his position, but his resignation last week increased the uncertainty surrounding Sudan’s political future, and a transitional period that should end with elections in 2023.
Resistance committees in Sudanese city districts, political parties and other pro-democracy groups launched a campaign of protests that is still ongoing under the slogan “No negotiation.” Security forces’ crackdowns on protesters have claimed the lives of at least 60 people.
Peretz said in a statement announcing the launch of the new political process: “All the measures that have been taken so far have not succeeded in restoring the path of transformation that fulfills the aspirations of the Sudanese people.”
He continued, “The repeated violence once morest peaceful demonstrators following the coup has only contributed to deepening the mistrust among all political parties in Sudan.”
The UN statement stated that all major stakeholders, including civilians and military, including armed movements, political parties, civil society, women’s groups and resistance committees, will be invited to participate in the political process.
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