Sudan security forces kill protester as uproar over army rule continues

Sudanese security forces killed a protester yesterday as thousands marched for civilian rule in the capital, Khartoum, as well as in neighbouring Omdurman, Gedaref, and the northern cities of Atbara and Dongola.

The Central Committee of Sudan Doctors said in a statement that the 27-year-old protester was killed in Khartoum after suffering a “wound to the chest… by coup forces,” bringing the number of those killed since last year’s military coup to at least 79.

Meanwhile, armed soldiers blocked streets and bridges as well as the entrances to the presidential palace, seat of the army and ruling authority in Khartoum.

The Sudanese Professionals Association, an umbrella group instrumental in organising the anti-coup rallies, vowed not to leave the streets “until the fall of the coup regime, achieving a democratic state, and holding to account all the murderers and those who committed crimes against the people.”

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Meanwhile, amid growing international pressure, the Sudanese authorities said they “confiscated the weapons” of soldiers who had appeared in videos shooting machine guns at protesters.

Sudan has been living in political turmoil since 25 October when army chief, Abdul Fattah Al-Burhan, staged a coup and placed Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok under house arrest.

Following mass protests, Al-Burhan reached a deal with Hamdok in November that reinstated him as prime minister. However, popular protests continued with some demonstrators saying that his reinstatement was helping legitimise the military takeover.

In early January, Hamdok resigned.