Thousands protest in Sudan on revolution anniversary

KHARTOUM, Sudan

Thousands of Sudanese rallied in the capital Khartoum on Sunday to mark the third anniversary of a popular uprising that swept long-serving President Omar al-Bashir from power.

Demonstrators waved banners condemning a recent political deal between Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok and the military.

“No negotiations”, “No partnership” and “No to military rule” were among banners waved by protesters in the Sudanese capital, according to an Anadolu Agency reporter on the ground.

"We are protesting today to recall the great days of the revolution and bring down the military rule,” Ahmed Ibrahim, a protester in a rally near the presidential palace in Khartoum, told Anadolu Agency.

“We want full civilian rule in this country, we want to save our future and the future of our children,” he said.

On December 19, 2018, protests erupted across Sudan against the deterioration of the country’s economic conditions, forcing the military to remove Bashir from power in April 2019.

Sudanese police reportedly fired tear gas canisters and stun grenades to disperse protesters as they approached the presidential palace.

Ahead of Sunday’s protests, army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan reiterated commitment to democratic transition in Sudan.

“We will continue with spirit and determination to complete the demands of the December revolution…with a view to building a civilian state,” he said in a televised speech.

Hamdok, for his part, defended the political deal with the military and called for reconciliation and consensus in Sudan.

On Oct. 25, the military dismissed Hamdok’s transitional government and declared a state of emergency, amid accusations and differences between politicians and the military.

Hamdok, however, was reinstated on Nov. 21 under an agreement with Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the Sudanese army chief, in a move that aimed to resolve a political crisis that threatened to undermine Sudan’s transition to democracy.

Before the military takeover, Sudan was administered by a sovereign council of military and civilian officials which was overseeing the transition period until elections in 2023 as part of a precarious power-sharing pact between the military and Forces of Freedom and Change coalition.

* Writing by Ahmed Asmar in Ankara