Sudan's military rulers say protest site threatens stability

Sudanese demonstrators gather to protest demanding a civilian transition government in front of military headquarters outside the army headquarters in Khartoum, Sudan on 3 May 2019 [Mahmoud Hjaj/Anadolu Agency]

Sudan’s military rulers on Thursday said that a protest encampment outside the Defence Ministry in central Khartoum has become a threat to stability after a military vehicle was attacked and seized, Reuters reports.

In a statement read on television stations, including state TV, a military spokesman also said that legal action would be taken against people who were unruly at the protest site.

“The protest site has become unsafe and represents a danger to the revolution and the revolutionaries and threatens the coherence of the state and its national security,” General Bahar Ahmed Bahar, head of the central region in Khartoum said.

He said that a military truck used by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) had been attacked and seized near the protest encampment.

The Transitional Military Council (TMC) and protesters are in a standoff over demands to hand power to civilians nearly two months after the ouster of autocrat Omar al-Bashir following months of protests against his rule.

The protesters have maintained an encampment outside the Defence Ministry in central Khartoum as they push for a transition to democracy.

READ: Pregnant woman killed amid ongoing Sudan demonstrations

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