Sudan Protesters March Towards Palace on Coup Anniversary

Tens of thousands of protesters marched towards Sudan’s presidential palace in Khartoum on Tuesday for demonstrations on the first anniversary of a coup that halted the transition towards democracy.

Internet services were blocked, according to monitoring group Netblocks. Protesters burnt tyres on main roads, chanting “power belongs to the people, the military belongs in the barracks“, Reports said

Protesters marching from southern Khartoum towards the palace and from central Omdurman towards the bridge connecting the city to the capital were faced with heavy tear gas from security forces, Reports said.

The military takeover halted Sudan’s transition to democracy following the overthrow of Omar al-Bashir in 2019, and “plunged an economy already in crisis further into turmoil.” Foreign donors quickly suspended relations and the currency tumbled, and the government ‘hiked taxes’ spurring numerous strikes.

A year on, Sudan’s military leaders have not appointed a prime minister, while Islamists loyal to Bashir who were purged from the civil service have returned. Bashir is in jail pending trial on charges he denies related to the coup that brought him to power in 1989 and the early 2000s war in Darfur.

Tribal violence has broken out across the country, including in Blue Nile state over the past week, where up to 250 were killed, according to the United Nations.

Negotiations
The generals, who say they will give up power when a government is in place, are “now engaged in negotiations with the Forces of Freedom and Change (FFC) coalition that had been sharing power prior to the coup.”

The talks are facilitated by the United Nations and African Union, as well as the “Quad” of the United States, Britain, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates.

The resistance committees that have sustained the anti-military movement with regular demonstrations have mostly rejected talks with the military and demand that its leaders be brought to justice over the ‘killings’ of over 100 protesters, including one on Sunday, and other alleged violations.

“Even though they blocked the internet and closed the bridges, we will keep putting pressure on the military until they step aside,” said Salah Abdallah, a 21-year-old university student, who said he was against the deal.

There was no immediate response to requests for comment on Tuesday’s protests from government officials.

Reuters /Oyenike Oyeniyi