Sudan – Two months after the coup, protests against the army continued

Two months after the coup in Sudan, protests against military rule continued in the northeastern African country. On Saturday, security forces used tear gas against demonstrators heading to the presidential palace in the capital, Khartoum. As eyewitnesses also reported, soldiers and special task forces blocked access to the bridges linking Khartoum to the neighboring town of Omdurman on the opposite bank of the Nile. Security forces also used tear gas in Omdurman. Protests have also been reported from other cities in the country. Internet and telephone connections were also cut off in Khartoum. The Central Society of Sudan Doctors announced that 178 people were injured in the riots on Saturday.

The military could not be reached for comment at first. It seized power on October 25 and placed Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok under house arrest. It also dissolved the transitional government and the Civil Military Council led by Musawah. After the overthrow of autocratic ruler Omar al-Bashir in April 2019, he was supposed to push the democratic process forward and prepare for elections scheduled for 2023. Since the coup, mass protests have been repeated, which, according to doctors, resulted in the deaths of 48 people when they were repressed.

The demonstrations are organized by groups opposed to an agreement that the coup leaders made with Prime Minister Hamdok on November 21. The incompetent head of government was reinstated, and political prisoners were released. The demonstrators are demanding free elections and until then the formation of a transitional government without the participation of the army. (Reuters)