Sudanese security forces on Sunday fired tear gas on protesters who came out on the streets in an anti-coup rally at the beginning of a two-day civil disobedience call against last month’s military takeover, reported Al Jazeera.
Last month, General Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan-led military forces seized power after dissolving the transitional administration, declaring a state of emergency in the country, and arresting Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok and dozens of other government officials and politicians. The military-civilian joint ruling council was supposed to lead Sudan towards the civilian rule.
Prime Minister Hamdok was also arrested briefly and was later kept under effective house arrest. The military coup was strongly condemned by several organizations and countries.
Pro-democracy protests have continued in the country since the coup took place. According to the independent Central Committee of Sudanese Doctors, at least 14 demonstrators have been killed and about 300 have been wounded during the protests so far.
On Sunday, dozens of teachers were seen carrying banners reading “no, no to military rule” as they demanded a transition to full civilian rule at a rally outside the Education Ministry in the capital Khartoum.
The teachers’ rally came after the Sudanese military replaced heads of departments at the education ministry,.
In a Facebook post, the teachers’ union said the protest rejects the return of remnants of the old regime of deposed president Omar al-Bashir.
Sunday’s rallies were organized after the Sudanese Professionals Association (SPA) called for civil disobedience against the coup. The SPA is an umbrella of unions that played a crucial role in the 2018-2019 protests which ousted the longtime leader al-Bashir in April 2019.
“The Sudanese people have rejected the military coup,” the SPA said on Twitter.
The group vowed no negotiation with the military and urged protesters to avoid confrontation with the security forces.
