Africa

Thousands of protesters march again in Sudan …as security forces fire tear gas

Thousands of protesters against military rule in Sudan marched towards the presidential palace in the capital Khartoum again on Monday, drawing volleys of tear gas from security forces, a Reuters witness said.

The protesters, who gathered some 2 km (1.25 mile) from the palace, blocked a main road in the Al Diyum neighbourhood and burned tires before starting their march.

Huge crowds have regularly taken to the streets demanding a return to civilian rule since the military coup on Oct. 25 ended a power-sharing arrangement that began after Islamist autocrat Omar al-Bashir fell to a popular uprising in 2019.

Military leaders said their coup saved Sudan from chaos and that they will protect people’s right to peaceful protest. They reinstated Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok in an attempt to safeguard reforms, but he resigned earlier this month.

Medics aligned with the protest movement say at least 63 people have died in clashes with security forces. A protester and a police officer were killed during demonstrations last Thursday.

A senior police officer and a protester were killed, according to authorities and a medical group, as thousands took to the streets of the Sudanese capital to protest against a military coup that has plunged the country into grinding deadlock.

The demonstrations on Thursday in Khartoum and elsewhere in Sudan are the latest in a series of protests since the military on October 25 overthrew the civilian-led government of Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok.

Security forces used tear gas to disperse those marching in a main Khartoum street leading to the fortified presidential palace, according to the pro-democracy movement. Online videos show white smoke – apparently from tear gas – as protesters try to take cover and others hurl stones at the troops.

Protesters chanted: “With all our power, we are heading to the palace” as they converged on the city centre, witnesses said.

In Khartoum’s Bahri district, protester Al-Reeh Mohammad was shot in the stomach and killed when security forces intervened with live ammunition to break up the march, according to the Sudan Doctors Committee.

Dozens of other protesters were wounded.

The military takeover has upended Sudan’s transition to democratic rule after three decades of repression and international isolation under former President Omar al-Bashir. –Reuters/Aljazeera

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