2 yıl önce

Sudanese security forces deploy in Khartoum ahead of planned protests

Forces blockaded major roads and most of the bridges connecting the capital as protestors prepared for the ninth demonstration against the coup despite PM Hamdok's reinstatement.

AFP

Protesters planned to march towards the presidential palace in downtown Khartoum.

Security forces have blocked major roads and bridges in Sudan's capital Khartoum against planned protests over the October 25 military coup that continued even after the reinstatement of the prime minister.

The forces sealed off major roads leading to the airport and army headquarters as well as most bridges connecting Khartoum to sister cities Bahri and Omdurman across the Nile river on Sunday.

On Saturday night and early Sunday morning, people arrived in bus convoys from other states, including North Kordofan and Gezira, to join protests in Khartoum, witnesses said.

Protesters planned to march towards the presidential palace in downtown Khartoum, where security forces including joint army and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces were heavily deployed.

It would be the ninth in a series of demonstrations against the coup that have continued even after the military reinstated Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok, who had been under house arrest, on November 21 and released him and other high-profile political detainees.

The Central Committee of Sudanese Doctors says 45 people have been killed in crackdowns on protesters since the coup.

Call for civilian rule

On Saturday night, Hamdok warned in a statement that Sudan's revolution faced a major setback and that political intransigence from all sides threatened the country's unity and stability.

A rally on Friday by members of civilian parties, known as the Forces of Freedom and Change coalition, was broken up by tear gas from an unclear source as witnesses told Reuters news agency there was no sign of security forces on the scene.

The military and civilian political parties had previously shared power since Bashir's removal. But the deal reinstating Hamdok faces opposition from protesters who had seen him as a symbol of resistance to military rule and denounced it as a betrayal.

Civilian parties, and neighbourhood resistance committees that have organised several mass protests, demand full civilian rule under the slogan "no negotiation, no partnership, no legitimacy."