Sudanese security forces fired tear gas on Tuesday to disperse thousands of protesters who gathered in central Khartoum and marched on the presidential palace against last month’s military takeover and a deal that reinstated the prime minister after his ouster in the coup, reported Reuters.
The security forces were deployed around the presidential palace to prevent demonstrators from approaching.
The protesters are demanding an end to military leaders’ interference in the government.
Last month, Sudan’s top general, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, seized power and detained Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok.
Under international pressure, Al-Burhan, general commander of the Sudanese Armed Force, and Hamdok signed a political declaration to end the political crisis. as part of the deal, Hamdok was reinstated as the Sudanese prime minister.
The Sudanese Professionals Association, an umbrella of unions that called for Tuesday’s protests, accused the two leaders of seeking to reproduce the former regime of longtime President Omar al-Bashir who was ousted in April 2019 following mass protests.
“Taking to the streets is a clear and decisive response to the putschists’ nonsense,” said the SPA, which was also instrumental in the anti-Bashir protests.
Hamdok, who has been prime minister in the transitional government since the ouster of Bashir, has defended the deal which was signed on November 21.
He claimed that he had partnered with the military to “stop the bloodshed” and to “not squander the gains of the last two years”.
According to medics, at least 43 people have lost their lives in anti-coup protests since last month. Doctors have accused security forces of using live bullets on protesters but police denied the allegations saying it only used “minimum force” to disperse protests.
The Burhan-Hamdok deal was welcomed by the United Nations, African Union, and several other countries.
The Sudanese military has promised to release detainees kept in custody since the coup and several politicians have since been freed.
Burhan has also vowed to lead Sudan to free and transparent elections in July 2023.
