Tear gas fired as tens of thousands march in Sudan against coup

KHARTOUM • Tens of thousands of Sudanese protesters have rallied two months after a military coup, demanding that soldiers "go back to the barracks" and calling for a transition to civilian rule.

Waving flags, beating drums, dancing and chanting, crowds marched on the streets of Khartoum last Saturday despite severed communications and the heavy presence of security forces, who later fired tear gas to disperse them.

The Doctors' Committee, part of the pro-democracy movement, reported that security forces fired tear gas into hospitals, attacking doctors as well as the wounded.

Officers had earlier barricaded bridges connecting the capital to suburbs, cut phone lines and restricted Internet access ahead of the planned protests.

At least 48 people have died in crackdowns during weeks of demonstrations, according to the Doctors' Committee, and Khartoum's state governor has warned that security forces "will deal with those who break the law and create chaos".

Demonstrators converged on the presidential palace in Khartoum, the headquarters of the military government in control since General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan seized power on Oct 25.

Gen Burhan held civilian leader Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok effectively under house arrest for weeks. After international pressure, including a cut-off of vital aid, Gen Burhan reinstated Mr Hamdok on Nov 21 under a deal promising elections for July 2023.

The move alienated many of Mr Hamdok's pro-democracy supporters, who dismissed it as providing a cloak of legitimacy for Gen Burhan's coup.

"What happened on Oct 25 was a coup... and we will not stop demonstrating until we have a civilian government," a masked woman protesting near the presidential palace told Agence France-Presse.

Mr Othman Mustafa, a 31-year-old demonstrator, said: "We don't just want the military out, we want to choose our own Sudan that looks like us, that responds to our demands and gives everyone equal rights."

As well as rallies in Khartoum and its suburbs, protesters also marched on the streets of Wad Madani, a city around 150km to the south, witnesses said.

Others reported demonstrations at Atbara in the north and Port Sudan on the Red Sea coast.

Over 14 million people, roughly a third of Sudan's population, will need humanitarian aid next year - the highest level in a decade, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Activists say more demonstrations are planned for Thursday.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE