In mass protests, Sudanese renew rejection of military coup
October 25, 2022 (KHARTOUM) – Sudanese massively took to the streets across the country on Tuesday, the first anniversary of the coup, to mark their rejection of the military rule, as the police killed one protester.
To discourage Sudanese from participating in the pro-democracy marches, the military-led government closed the bridges linking the three cities of the capital Khartoum and blocked internet access.
However, tens of thousands of anti-coup protesters marched in 19 towns across the country to show their opposition to the coup, which brought insecurity, economic disaster and a high level of corruption similar to the former regime.
The Sudanese police used water cannons, tear gas and live ammunition to disperse the protesters who chanted anti-coup slogans calling to hand over power to civilians.
The Emergency lawyers confirmed the use of live bullets to disperse protests in Khartoum and denounced the “collusion” of internet provider companies with the security services, as they shut down the internet from 9:00 am to 6:00 pm.
Despite the peaceful character of the protests and the massive popular participation, a police vehicle brutally ran over a protester who was killed on the spot.
“Abu al-Qasim Osama Abdel-Wahab, 20 years old, was killed in Al-Ardah neighbourhood of Omdurman, after being run over by a police vehicle,” said the lawyers.
The Central Committee of Sudanese Doctors (CCS), which was the first to confirm Abdel Wahab’s death, denounced the violation of the neutrality of medical facilities by the security forces.
The CCSD said the security forces took a position inside the military hospital in Omdurman to fire tear gas on the protesters.
To justify the crackdown on the protesters, the police issued a statement saying they dealt with trained groups organized in military formations.
Similar protests took place in Atbara, Port Sudan Wad Madani, Kassala, Kadoguli, El Fasher , Kosti, Nyala, El Geneina, Zalingei among other towns.
Banned NCP calls for protests
The banned National Congress Party (NCP) of the former regime called on Tuesday for protests to reject any political settlement with the Forces for Freedom and Change (FFC) to restore a civilian-led democratic transition.
In a post on his Facebook page, Ibrahim Ghandour, NCP leading figure called to take part in the “Dignity Demonstrations” on Saturday, October 29, to reject any deal bringing back to power the “agents of the (foreign) embassies,” in Khartoum as he wrote.
Also, the People of Sudan Initiative, gathering groups allied with the former regime, announced its participation in the rally of October 29.
The Initiative, headed by a religious leader close to the NCP, recently launched a call for a dialogue involving the former regime to restore a transitional government.
The coalition leaders voiced their support for the military component and its leader, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan.
As part of his efforts to establish a broad political base for his military government, al-Burhan released many Islamists from prison, accommodated former President Omer al-Bashir who is now residing in a private hospital, reinstated their elements in the civil service and restored their humanitarian groups.
(ST)