Sudan army uses tear gas to disperse anti-coup protests 

Sudanese security forces fired tear gas as tens of thousands of protesters gathered in central Khartoum yesterday to oppose military rule following a coup in October, Reuters reported.

Neighbourhood resistance committees called the protests, demanding full civilian authority, casting aside an agreement last week that reinstated civilian Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok and brought the release of most top politicians detained since the coup.

The 25 October takeover ended a military partnership with civilian political groups since the toppling of Omar Al-Bashir in 2019 and drew condemnation from Western powers, which have suspended aid.

While bridges between the capital’s sister cities were left open at the start of the protests, heavily armed police forces took to central Khartoum, where protesters planned to march on the presidential palace.

Police fired tear gas and stun grenades as protesters gathered about a kilometre from the palace, blocking a main road and chanting “Soldiers belong in the barracks”.

Forces chased protesters in and out of side streets, where the protesters began barricading and gathering in smaller groups. In a statement, the Sudanese Professionals Association said protesters were being arrested.

The Central Committee of Sudanese Doctors said one injured protester was arrested while receiving treatment inside a nearby hospital, and that others had been injured after handling stun grenades. The committee said police used tear gas at other hospitals.

State television reported late yesterday that the police force said there were some cases of suffocation from tear gas and injuries due to crowding.

They added that some protesters tried to cross security barriers, and that 44 people were arrested including 18 minors who were returned to their families.

READ: New protests in Sudan against military takeover

Other protests took place in cities including Port Sudan, Kassala, Nyala and Atbara.

The committees and political parties have rejected the deal signed by Hamdok, who said it would bring the release of dozens of detainees, end a crackdown on protesters that has seen 43 people die, and preserve billions in foreign aid.

The protester-aligned doctors committee said yesterday that a protester had died as a result of being beaten on the head during the last march on Thursday.

Referring to top military generals, the Khartoum committees said on Monday they “do not differentiate between Hamdok or Burhan or Hemedti and the rest of the generals, they are all participants in the coup and belong in the gallows.”

Some of the freed politicians were seen at the protests.