At least 8 Sudanese protesters were killed on Thursday as masses continue to demonstrate demanding an end to military rule, reported The Reuters.
Sudan’s leading pro-democracy groups had called for nationwide protest on Thursday to reiterate their demands for a reversal of the October 25 military coup led by army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan.
The security forces fired tear gas and water cannon to block the protesters from marching towards the presidential palace in central Khartoum. There was extended internet blackouts across cities in an apparent effort to hamper the protest movement.
Six people were fatally shot when police fired live ammunition at protesters in Omdurman, according to Sudan’s Doctors Committee, which tracks casualties during protests. Another person died from a gunshot wound in the head in Khartoum and a child died after being shot in the chest.
In 2019, an uprising overthrew longtime ruler Omar al-Bashir and led to a power-sharing arrangement between civilian groups and the military. But, the Sudanese military, led by Al-Burhan, toppled the transitional government and brought back military rule in October 2021.
Thursday’s protests marked the anniversary of 2019 protests demanding that the generals, who had ousted Bashir in a palace coup earlier that year, cede power to civilians.
“We’re very, very much gravely concerned by the continued use of excessive force by the government security forces in Sudan as they respond to protests and especially what we’ve seen today,” UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said in New York.
Dujarric said that it is imperative that people be allowed to express themselves freely and peacefully, and security forces in any country should be there to protect people’s right to do that, not to hinder it.
The United Nations, African Union and East African bloc IGAD, have all been attempting to broker talks between the Sudanese generals and civilians, but they have been boycotted by all the main civilian factions.
