At least seven people were killed and scores injured as tens of thousands of Sudanese took to the streets in several parts of Khartoum, on Sunday, in the largest mass demonstration since a deadly raid by security forces on a protest camp earlier in June, reported Reuters.
The protestors defied the heavy presence of troops to demand the immediate and unconditioned handover of power to civilians.
The witnesses reported that the security forces fired barrages of tear gas on protestors in two areas near the presidential palace and in the upscale eastern neighborhood of Riyadh.
According to the Central Committee of Sudan Doctors, four people were killed in Khartoum’s twin city of Omdurman while one protester died after being hit by a bullet in the chest in the town of Atbara.
“There are several seriously wounded by the bullets of the military council militias in hospitals of the capital and the provinces,” the committee said.
The state news agency SUNA reported three members of the TMC’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces were also shot.
Gen Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, the deputy head of the Transitional Military Council (TMC), said unknown snipers were shooting at civilians and soldiers.
“There are snipers who are firing on people, they shot three members of the Rapid Support Force and five or six citizens,” Dagalo said. “There are infiltrators, people who want to jeopardize progress.”
The Forces for Freedom and Change (FFC) opposition coalition had called for a mass demonstration on Sunday to mark the 30th anniversary of the coup that brought longtime President Omar al-Bashir to power, and the African Union’s deadline for Sudan’s military rulers to hand over to civilians or face further sanctions.
Protests against the long-time dictator, Omar al-Bashir, began in December, and the army ousted him in April. But after Bashir’s exit, the military has refused to permit civilian rule which led to continued protests in the country.
