Protests continue in Sudan for full civilian rule

KHARTOUM, Sudan

Sudanese protesters staged fresh rallies in the capital Khartoum and other cities on Monday to demand full civilian rule.

Demonstrators raised anti-military banners amid calls for the handover of power to civilians as they marched to the presidential palace in Khartoum, according to an Anadolu Agency reporter on the ground.

Similar protests were reported in the River Nile State, Northern State, Al-Gezeera, and Sennar State.

Meanwhile, the so-called resistance committees, which spearheaded the protests against the military, unveiled a “political charter” to end the military rule in Sudan.

The committees said the charter aims to unite all Sudanese political groups and to “build one program for ending the military rule, establishing a full civilian rule and holding general elections after two years.”

The document calls for the formation of a transitional legislative assembly, which will select a civilian prime minister to form a technocrat government. It also calls for the restructuring of the Sudanese army and keeping it away from politics and economic activities.

There was no comment from the Sudanese authorities on the charter.

Sudan has been in turmoil since Oct. 25, 2021, when the military dismissed Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok's transitional government and declared a state of emergency, in a move decried by political groups as a “military coup”.

Prior to the military takeover, Sudan was governed by a sovereign council of military and civilian officials tasked with overseeing the transition period until elections in 2023.