KHARTOUM, Sudan

Thousands of activists filled the streets of Sudan’s capital Thursday to honor women for taking part in the ongoing uprising against President Omar al-Bashir’s rule.

The demonstrations in Khartoum came ahead of International Women’s Day.

Police used tear gas to suppress the crowds and blockaded Burri, a residential district of the city, for several hours.

The No Suppression of Women Initiative, an independent organization, said in a statement that thousands of women marked International Women’s Day by staging brief sit-ins in front of the homes of iconic Sudanese women in parts of the capital.

“We witnessed a great day, despite the suppression and excessive violence of the police. Thousands of women took to the streets of Khartoum to celebrate their day,” it said in part.

The Sudanese Professional Association (SPA) had called for rallies Thursday ahead of International Women's Day, which is marked on March 8 every year.

Meanwhile, the Alliance of Democratic Lawyers confirmed in a statement that the emergency courts have dropped their verdicts against dozens of protesters after their lawyers made an appeal.

“Those who have been sentenced from three to five years in prison due to protesting have been freed after the courts dropped the verdicts against them,” it stated.

Some 870 protesters have been brought before the emergency courts in Khartoum in the past few days, according to the alliance.