Sudanese security forces fired tear gas canisters in Khartoum on Monday to disperse thousands of protesters demanding justice for the dozens killed in a crackdown by military power launched since the October coup.
These shots targeted the anti-coup demonstrators gathered near the presidential palace, where the leader sits de facto of the country, the head of the army, Abdel Fattah al-Burhane.
The demonstrators shouted at the military to “return to their barracks” and called for the dissolution of the Rapid Support Forces, AFP journalists noted. This paramilitary group commanded by number 2 of the regime, Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, known as Hémedti, is accused by organizations dedicated to human rights of having committed atrocities.
With his coup of October 25, General Burhane put a stop to the transition to an entirely civilian power promised more than two years ago, after the fall of dictator Omar el-Béchir, dismissed by the armed under pressure from the street.
Justice
Security forces also used tear gas canisters to try to disperse protesters gathered in Omdurman, a suburb north-west of Khartoum.
As in the other suburb, Khartoum-Nord, the demonstrators demanded justice for the 79 dead of the repression, according to a union of pro-democracy doctors.
Sudanese authorities have repeatedly denied using live ammunition against protesters, reporting that dozens of security personnel were injured and a police general was killed.
Demonstrations also took place in Madani, 200 kilometers south of the capital, where more than 3,000 people marched, as well as in Gedaref and Port Sudan, in the coastal east of the country.
The demonstrators marched under the Sudanese flags chanting “no, no to military power! and “blood for blood”, according to witnesses.
Elsewhere, demonstrators also marched by the hundreds in El-Geneina, capital of West Darfur, and in Kassala, east of Khartoum, chanting that “power belongs to the people!” “.
Divisions between civilians
Still deprived of international aid in retaliation for the putsch, Sudan, one of the poorest countries in the world, is increasingly divided between pro-army and anti-putsch.
In 2019, after thirty years of General Omar al-Bashir’s military-Islamist dictatorship, civilians had chosen to share power with the army. It has almost always been in control of Sudan since its independence 66 years ago. But since the putsch, the pro-democracies refuse any collaboration with the military.
On Saturday, supporters of military power demonstrated and shouted down “foreign interference”, reiterating their “support” for the army. Several journalists were attacked by demonstrators, according to AFP.
The UN, which is trying to reduce tensions, is working with the various parties with a view to a possible dialogue to put the transition to democracy back on track and to bring back financial aid from international donors.
But if the two camps want the exact opposite, they agree on one point: the rejection of the dialogue advocated by the UN.
The pro-army want to ratify the status quo post-coup, while the pro-democracies oppose any partnership with the generals.
The United States, which suspended $700 million in aid to Sudan after the coup, recently warned Saudi authorities that a continued crackdown would have “consequences”.
And the US Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, Molly Phee, has threatened to “make military leaders pay an even heavier cost if the violence continues”.