Sudanese Islamists hold 3rd protest against Hamdok government
April 16, 2020 (KHARTOUM) – Hundreds of people demonstrated for the third time in the capital, Khartoum, Thursday, in the vicinity of the army headquarters to demand the departure of the transitional government, headed by Abdallah Hamdok.
Witnesses told Sudan Tribune that a group of protesters managed to sneak through barbed wire and security barriers into the vicinity of the army headquarters with the idea to stage a sit-in similar to the one held by the Forces for Freedom and Change (FFC) in April 2019 to call on the army to join them and oust the former regime in support of their movement.
The demonstrators chanted slogans against the Prime Minister, Abdallah Hamdok, and called on the Chairman of the Sovereign Council, Abdel-Fattah al-Burhan, to take power.
“The demonstrators are now on the outskirts of the army headquarters, whoever believes in God and the Day of Judgement (…), has to stand up and back the victory of the free people and revolutionaries,” wrote Mohamed Ali al-Jezouli, the head of the Islamist State of Law and Development Party, on his Facebook page on Thursday.
The Sudanese police managed swiftly to disperse the protesters, who arrived at the army headquarters, with tear gas and prevented them from holding their sit-in.
On Thursday evening the Sudanese army announced the closure of all the roads leading to the army headquarters in Khartoum as of Friday 6:00 AM.
This protest is the third one carried by the Sudanese Islamists within a week. Also, it comes less than 48 hours before a complete lockdown imposed in Khartoum State to prevent the spread of coronavirus.
Various Islamic currents in Sudan believe they can incite the army to take power after the government’s failure to convince international financial institutions to support its economic plans due to U.S. sanctions on Sudan.
For its part, the government has launched an awareness campaign to explain its programme. From the other side, the Sovereign Council, the government, and the FFC held a series of meetings to review the government’s action and to mobilize internal economic resources.
(ST)