Thousands of Sudanese brave tear gas to protest military rule

KHARTOUM — Sudanese security forces fired tear gas on Monday at crowds calling for civilian rule and demanding justice for the scores killed in crackdowns since a military coup nearly three months ago.

Thousands of protesters in the capital Khartoum chanting slogans against the army headed toward the presidential palace, an area which security forces had sealed off ahead of the march.

Police forces later fired tear gas to disperse the protesters, according to an AFP correspondent.

Protests were also held in cities including Wad Madani, south of the capital, the Red Sea city of Port Sudan, and the eastern state of Gedaref, according to witnesses.

“No, no to military rule”, and “civilian [rule] is the people’s choice” protesters shouted in Wad Madani, according to witness Emad Mohamed.

Sudan has been rocked by regular protests since the October 25 military power grab led by general Abdel Fattah Al Burhan.

The coup derailed a civilian-military power-sharing deal, that had been painstakingly negotiated after the 2019 ouster of autocrat Omar Al Bashir, stalling a planned for transition to civilian rule.

Anti-coup demonstrations have left at least 73 people killed and hundreds wounded, according to medics.

Sudan’s authorities have repeatedly denied using live ammunition against demonstrators, and insist scores of security personnel have been wounded during protests.

A police general was stabbed to death during the unrest earlier this month.

Mass arrests 

On Sunday, Sudan’s key Umma party vowed “to remove all traces of the coup”.

It however warned that the “coup leadership” will “persist with its brutality and come up with new ways to commit violent massacres and launch mass arrests of revolutionaries”.

Hundreds of pro-democracy activists have been arrested in the crackdown on anti-coup activists.