Sudanese army foil attempt to disperse protesters during the night
April 8, 2019 (KHARTOUM) – Sudanese army soldiers have foiled an attack by the security apparatus elements on the protesters who camp outside the Sudan Armed Forces headquarters s in Khartoum.
Several reports say President Omer al-Bashir ordered, during a meeting of the National Security Council on Sunday, to use violence to disperse the sit-in out the army headquarters where the military protect thousands of protesters.
During the early hours of Monday as expected armed elementsIntelligenceonal intelligence and Security Services (NISS) arrived and started opening fire in the air to break up the three-day sit-in but the protesters did not flee the area.
At the same time, the Sudanese army soldiers ordered the protesters who spent the night outside the headquarters to lie down on the ground and started shooting in the air too, to prevent them from advancing towards the protesters.
On Monday morning activists, from the army headquarters, broadcasted live reports showing the protesters chanting slogans hailing the protection they army has provided after the withdrawal of the security forces, while others converted a vehicle abandoned by the security forces into a trash can.
It is obvious now in Khartoum that there is a rift among the regular forces or at least within the Sudanese army leadership as many say the soldiers cannot resist the security forces without instruction from their military command.
The Sudanese Professionals Association (SPA) released a statement on the social media calling on Khartoum state population to gather at the army headquarters to prevent further attack on the protesters or the army soldiers.
For its part, the opposition forces of the Freedom and Change Declaration announced a press conference from outside the army headquarters on Monday afternoon.
(ST)