Anti-military protests continue in Sudan to demand civilian rule

KHARTOUM, Sudan

Protests continued in Sudan for the third day in a row on Saturday to demand the reversal of last year’s military takeover and the return to civilian rule.

Demonstrators staged rallies in Eldaim neighborhood in Khartoum and a number of districts in the adjoining cities of Bahri and Omdurman, according to an Anadolu Agency reporter.

The protests come as the so-called Resistance Committees, which spearhead the demonstrations against the military, called in a statement for civil disobedience across Sudan to bring down the military regime.

The committee also called on supporters to stage mass demonstrations later Saturday towards the presidential palace in downtown Khartoum.

At least ten protesters were killed and dozens injured in the largest anti-military protests in months in Sudan on Thursday. Medics aligned with the protesters said the fatalities occurred by gunfire from security forces in Khartoum and the cities of Omdurman and Bahri.

Police, for its part, admitted the use of gunfire by one of its members in Khartoum, saying it will investigate the incident.

Commenting on a video footage showing policemen opening fire towards protesters in Khartoum, police said the use of violence was unacceptable.

“This individual behavior is unacceptable and would be investigated,” it added.

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

At least 100 people have since been killed in protests against the military since October, according to Sudanese medics.