In Sudan, at least four people died Thursday, December 30, shot dead on another day of protest. Tens of thousands took to the streets of Khartoum, the capital, and neighboring towns to denounce the October 25 putsch and demand the establishment of a transitional civilian government.
Sudanese security forces continue their all-out repression. But neither the cuts to the internet and local telephone networks, nor the containers placed on the bridges connecting Khartoum to its suburbs have dissuaded thousands of Sudanese from shouting their refusal of military power. They also expressed their opposition to the political agreement which, at the end of October, allowed General Abdel Fattah Al Burhane, the head of the army, to remain at the head of the transitional authorities for two more years.
With each new call to take to the streets, the Sudanese authorities do everything they can to silence the opposition: searches in the media, night roundups in the ranks of militants on the eve of the demonstrations and installation of surveillance cameras on the streets. main axes of the Sudanese capital.
On December 19, the third anniversary of the revolution that made it possible to drive out the former dictator Omar El Bashir, the UN even accused the security forces of having raped demonstrators in an attempt to break down the protest. In two months of mobilization, 52 demonstrators were killed and hundreds more were wounded by bullets. However, nothing seems to stop the protesters. Thursday, December 30, was the eleventh time that the Sudanese have taken to the streets in two months, despite the repression.
The feeling of betrayal of the population towards the civilian Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok is very strong. He is accused of having favored the return of the old regime. On October 25, 2021, several members of the transitional authorities were arrested after refusing to support the putsch of General Al Burhane, who declared a state of emergency and then dissolved the transitional authorities. In the process, the head of government was placed under house arrest. But a few weeks later, Abdallah Hamdok is reinstated in his functions. In fact, he made an agreement with the head of the Army, not without having promised free and transparent elections by 2023. The demonstrators therefore have a stubborn resentment towards him. Since then, he has raised the threat of a possible resignation.
The fact remains that Sudan still does not have a government at the present time, although this is the condition sine qua non for the resumption of international aid which is vital for this country, one of the poorest in the world.