Sudan protests against ‘foreign interference’ in its affairs

Hundreds of Sudanese people demonstrated in the capital Khartoum yesterday against foreign interference in the country’s internal affairs, Anadolu reported.

The demonstrators took to the streets mainly to protest against the UAE’s interference.

Supporters of ousted President Omar Al-Bashir’s National Congress Party (NCP) waved banners reading: “No to external interference.”

A few days ago, similar demonstrations were organised in Khartoum, demanding the expulsion of Volker Perthes, head of the United Nations’ Integrated Transition Mission in Sudan (UNITAMS), Anadolu reported.

“We are protesting against conspiracies that target Islamists in Sudan,” Ismail Mahmoud, 56, told Anadolu Agency. “Sudan will never be ruled by secular laws as long as we are alive,” he said.

“We are also demonstrating to maintain Sudan’s national sovereignty against foreign interference and the new colonialism represented by UNITAMS envoy Volker Perthes,” Mahmoud added.

READ: Sudan protesters march towards Palace on coup anniversary

Sudan’s ruling military and the opposition Forces for Freedom and Change (FFC) coalition have been taking part in talks under the auspices of UNITAMS to reach an agreement to resolve the country’s months-long political crisis.

The QUAD mechanism, which includes the US, UK, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, is also pressuring Sudan’s rivals to reach a political deal to bring the country back to the path of transition.

Sudan has been in turmoil over a year since the military dismissed Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok’s transitional government, a move decried by political forces as a “military coup”.