Sudan: 1 killed, 78 injured in demonstrations

The Central Committee of Sudanese Doctors (CCSD) announced today that 78 people were injured during the demonstrations held yesterday in the capital Khartoum and the city of Wad Madani in the state of Al-Jazeera.

The non-governmental medical committee stated, in a statement seen by Anadolu Agency, that it had recorded 78 injuries, including six from live bullets, 22 cases of scattered gunshot wounds, likely from a birdshot weapon, and eight injuries to the head from tear gas canisters used by the security forces.

She explained that the injuries included the three cities of Khartoum, “22 cases in Khartoum, 6 injuries in Bahri, and 44 injuries in Omdurman, west of the capital,” and in the city of Wad Madani, six injuries were recorded.

One person was killed in Khartoum during the protests, the CCSD announced yesterday. Adding that it held the security forces responsible for his death as he had a bullet wound in his back. This brings the death toll since the protests began on 25 October to 94. There has been no official statement regarding the deaths.

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Protesters had taken to the streets to demand “full civilian rule” as part of an ongoing protest movement under the slogan the “April earthquake.”

Yesterday marked three years since Sudan witnessed its largest modern-day protests against the regime of President Omar Al-Bashir. He was ousted on 11 April 2019.

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.

Al-Burhan has said he will only step down to hand over power to an elected body.

Anti-military protests in Sudan continue – Cartoon [Sabaaneh/Middle East Monitor]