At least 3 Sudanese protesters were killed in firing by security forces in Khartoum on Thursday during the latest mass protests demanding a transition to civilian rule after a coup, reported Al Jazeera.
Protesters gathered in several cities across the country in the first wide-scale demonstration since Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok announced his resignation.
On Sunday, Hamdok resigned from his post leaving the military fully in charge. He was previously ousted by the Sudanese military and put under house arrest in the October 25 coup.
He returned to the government on November 21 under a deal signed with General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, a move the protest movement rejected as a “betrayal”.
In his resignation speech, Hamdok warned that Sudan was at a “dangerous crossroads threatening its very survival”.
According to the Central Committee of Sudanese Doctors (CCSD), two protesters were killed in Omdurman, the twin city of Khartoum, while one was shot and killed in Bahri. The CCSD said Thursday’s killings brought the overall death toll since the military coup to 60.
Earlier on Thursday, communications and internet services on mobile phones were disrupted in Khartoum ahead of the planned protests.
The deaths came a day after the United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken had appealed for Sudanese security forces to refrain from using lethal force against demonstrators & commit to an independent investigation.
The October military takeover has been accompanied by a security forces crackdown that has also wounded hundreds.
On Tuesday, the United States, European Union, Norway, and the United Kingdom warned the military against naming their own successor to Hamdok.
In a collective statement, they said they would not support a prime minister or a government that is appointed without the involvement of a broad range of civilian stakeholders.
The protest movement is demanding a fully civilian government to lead the transition towards elections. Elections are planned for July 2023.
