The people of Sudan came out on the streets on Tuesday to pressure transitional authorities, demanding justice for those killed in the protests last year that led to the ousting of longtime autocrat Omar al-Bashir, reported Reuters.
The protesters gathered in Khartoum, Khartoum North and Omdurman after the government closed roads and bridges leading to the center of the capital. There were also protests in Kassala in eastern Sudan and in the restive region of Darfur. They were seen waving Sudanese flags as they chanted “freedom, peace and justice”, the slogan of the anti-Bashir movement. Some even blocked streets with burning tyres.
The protest was called by the Sudanese Professionals’ Association, and the so-called Resistance Committees, which were important in the protests against al-Bashir and the generals who took over power for months after his removal.
For the most part, the demonstrations were peaceful, but the Sudanese police had to use tear gas to disperse protesters marching on the road leading to the airport in the capital, Khartoum.
The protests are also the first major demonstrations since hundreds of thousands of protesters took to the streets in Sudan’s capital and elsewhere in the country to pressure the military council to hand over power to a civilian government last year.
Notably, Tuesday, June 30, was a highly symbolic day for Sudan, as it was the anniversary of Bashir’s ascent to power in a 1989 military coup and also marks the day one year ago when thousands marched to pressure the generals who assumed power after Bashir’s ouster to resume negotiations over a peaceful power-sharing deal with civilian opposition.
On Monday, Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok gave an assurance to the protesters that their demands will be met. He promised the people of Sudan that his transitional government would work to meet the demands in the next two weeks.
