Dozens more were injured in Omdurman near the capital Khartoum, the Central Committee of Sudanese Doctors reported on Thursday. Tens of thousands of demonstrators took to the streets in several cities across the country to protest the October 25 military coup. The security forces used tear gas and closed the bridge connections to Khartoum.
For more than two months, pro-democratic activists in Sudan have been protesting against the military rulers and calling for a return to a civilian government. According to the Central Committee of Sudanese Doctors, which is part of the protest movement, a total of 52 people have been killed in the course of the protests so far.
According to the doctors, the security forces obstructed the rescue operations on Thursday. Doctors asked for reinforcements at Arbain Hospital in Omdurman because security forces “are shooting live ammunition at protesters and preventing ambulances from reaching them”. The medical professionals’ appeal was published in online services by Sudanese living abroad. The Sudanese authorities cut phone and mobile internet connections in the country.
In Khartoum, the police and the military patrolled the streets. The demonstrators in the capital came within a few hundred meters of the presidential palace, the headquarters of military chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan. They chanted “No to military rule” and “Military in the barracks!” Before they were pushed back with tear gas by soldiers, police and para-military militias.
The Saudi Arabian television station Al-Arabiya reported that several of its journalists were injured in an attack by security forces on the station’s office in Khartoum. Another Saudi broadcaster, Asharq, reported that its reporters had been prevented from covering the rallies.
According to eyewitness reports, there were similar demonstrations in Madani, south of the capital, as well as in the cities of Kassala and Port Sudan. With their protests, the demonstrators also defied a curfew imposed by the authorities.
Before the rallies on Thursday, new surveillance cameras were installed on the demonstration routes in Khartoum. The Internet group NetBlocks reported that from the morning onwards, mobile Internet connections were also switched off, through which activists usually broadcast their actions live and call for demonstrations.
The US embassy called for restraint and reaffirmed its “support for the peaceful expression of democratic aspirations” and the protection of freedom of expression. She also called on the Sudanese authorities “to refrain from arbitrary arrests”.
After protests on December 19, activists denounced sexual assault on women. At that time, according to the UN, at least 13 women and girls were victims of rape or group rape. The EU and US condemned the use of sexual violence “as a weapon to keep women away from demonstrations and to silence their voices”.
Sudan’s Supreme General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan declared a state of emergency on October 25 and deposed the government that was supposed to lead the transition to democratic elections after the overthrow of long-time ruler Omar al-Bashir in April 2019.
After mass demonstrations and international protests, al-Burhan reinstated Prime Minister Abdullah Hamdok four weeks later. How much power Hamdok actually has since his reinstatement is unclear, however.
Source: Nachrichten
