Sudan army kills several anti-coup protesters, wounds dozens

At least three protesters have been killed and 80 others wounded, after security forces fired on crowds that flooded the streets in the capital Khartoum in the wake of the ongoing coup in the country.

After a failed military coup last month, deep tensions between the military and the civilian administration erupted in Sudan amid recent rival protests in Khartoum.
AFP

After a failed military coup last month, deep tensions between the military and the civilian administration erupted in Sudan amid recent rival protests in Khartoum.

At least three protesters have been killed and 80 others injured by military gunfire in front of the Sudanese army headquarters in the capital Khartoum, a doctors union said.

The Central Committee of Sudanese Doctors wrote on its Facebook page that three people had died of wounds after being shot by armed forces, and at least 80 people were injured.

General Abdel Fattah al Burhan declared a state of emergency in a televised address on Monday as soldiers rounded up civilian leaders that have been heading the transition to full civilian rule following the April 2019 ouster of Omar al Bashir.

Clashes erupted in the capital Khartoum after his speech, with the information ministry saying that soldiers had "fired live bullets on protesters rejecting the military coup outside the army headquarters."

"Civilian rule is the people's choice," demonstrators chanted, with protesters waving flags and using tyres to create burning barricades. "No to military rule".

The violence, largely centred outside the army headquarters in the capital, came hours after soldiers detained Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok, ministers in his government and civilian members of Sudan's ruling council, the information ministry said.

READ MORE: A military coup: What is happening in Sudan?

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'We will not accept military rule'

On Monday, the mainstream FFC appealed for nationwide "civil disobedience".

The Sudanese Professionals Association, an umbrella group of trade unions which were key in leading the 2019 anti-Bashir protests, denounced what it called a "military coup" and urged demonstrators "to fiercely resist" it.

Protesters were seen marching through the streets of Khartoum carrying the Sudanese flag.

"We will not accept military rule, and we are ready to give our lives for the democratic transition in Sudan," said demonstrator Haitham Mohamed.

"We will not leave the streets until the civilian government is back," said Sawsan Bashir, another protester.

Internet services were cut across the country and roads into Khartoum shut, before soldiers stormed the headquarters of Sudan's state broadcaster in the capital's twin city of Omdurman, the information ministry said.

Before the dissolution, Sudan was administered by the Sovereign Council of military and civilian authorities, which oversaw the transition period until elections slated for 2023, as part of a precarious power-sharing pact between the military and the Forces for Freedom and Change coalition.

READ MORE: What are the main political dynamics behind Sudan’s latest military coup?

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