New protests once morest the army in several cities
Demonstrators continue to protest in numbers once morest military power in Sudan, two days following the resignation of the prime minister.
Paramilitary forces and the army fired tear gas canisters at crowds in Khartoum, witnesses said.
AFP
Security forces on Tuesday fired tear gas at demonstrators who took to the streets in Sudan to protest once morest military rule, two days following the prime minister’s resignation, witnesses said.
Thousands of demonstrators gathered in the Sudanese capital and its suburb Omdurman, as well as in the cities of Port Sudan (east) and Nyala, the capital of South Darfur, despite the massive deployment of security forces.
Despite a murderous repression, the spearhead of the revolt once morest the deposed dictator Omar al-Bashir in 2019 and once morest the military since the putsch of October 25, 2021, the Association of Sudanese professionals, had called for new demonstrations Tuesday to claim civil power.
“No, No to military rule,” chanted the demonstrators, calling for the dissolution of the Sovereignty Council, led by the head of the army, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhane, author of the coup that derailed democratic transition.
Protesters marched towards the presidential palace in Khartoum, but the streets leading to the palace and army headquarters were cordoned off by riot police, paramilitary forces and the army who fired tear gas canisters at the area. crowd, according to witnesses.
Burnt tires, barricades
In southern Khartoum, demonstrators sang “civilian rule is the people’s choice”, according to a witness. In the east of the capital, they “burned tires and erected stone barricades in the streets”, according to another. Others urged the deployed soldiers to return to their barracks.
No indication was given immediately on possible victims. And in the evening the demonstrators dispersed peacefully. The military have been the only ones in charge since the resignation on Sunday of Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok, a civilian, raising fears of a return to dictatorship.
The crackdown on protests once morest the army has left at least 57 dead and hundreds injured since the coup, according to an independent doctors’ union. According to the UN, at least 13 women were raped during the unrest, and scores of journalists beaten and even arrested while the internet and telephones function only at the will of power.
On November 21, General Burhane reinstated Abdallah Hamdok in a deal promising mid-2023 elections, but the protest movement called the deal a “betrayal” and continued to protest. In resigning, Abdallah Hamdok said he had tried to prevent the country “from sliding into disaster” but that Sudan was now at a “dangerous crossroads threatening its survival”.
Warning from Washington and the EU
Receiving the American charge d’affaires Brian Shukan on Tuesday, General Burhane stressed the need to “continue the dialogue between all parties to reach a national consensus program,” according to a statement from his office. He also discussed with the UN Special Representative Volker Perthes “the acceleration of the appointment of a new prime minister”, according to the text.
Nonetheless the United States, the European Union, the United Kingdom and Norway have urged the Sudanese military not to unilaterally appoint a new head of government, arguing in a joint statement that they “will not support a prime minister or a government appointed without the involvement of a large panel of civilian actors ”.
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