Thousands rally in Sudan to demand civilian rule

KHARTOUM, Sudan

Fresh demonstrations erupted in Sudan on Sunday to demand the restoration of civilian rule in the country.

Thousands of protesters rallied in the capital Khartoum, with demonstrators blocking a number of roads with barricades and burning tyres, according to an Anadolu Agency reporter.

Security forces shut roads leading to the Presidential Palace and the headquarters of the Sudanese Military Command in the capital.

Demonstrations were also reported in the cities of Bahri and Omdurman and the eastern city of Kassala.

Protesters held banners condemning the military rule and demanding the restoration of civilian rule in Sudan.

Sunday’s protests were called by the former ruling Forces of Freedom and Change coalition and the Resistance Committees, which spearhead the current wave of demonstrations against the military.

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."

More than 100 people have been killed in protests against the military since then, according to Sudanese medics.

* Writing by Ahmed Asmar