Sudan has not been able to calm down since the violent military coup at the end of October …
Now, in protests against the establishment of a new government council, headed by Lieutenant General Abdel-Fattah Burhan, five people have been killed in the third largest country in Africa.
As the Sudanese Medical Association said on Saturday, four people were shot dead in the capital, Khartoum, and in the city of Omdurman. Another was choked on tear gas, said the association, which is close to the protest movement, further.
A paramedic told Reuters news agency 29 people were injured, some seriously. “People shouldn’t stop taking to the streets. I was beaten, but I will come back tomorrow and continue to protest, ”said one of the injured demonstrators, who did not want to be named.
Sudanese police said they did not use firearms during the protests. 39 police officers were injured during the operation and numerous police stations were attacked by activists.
Tens of thousands of people gathered for protests on Saturday after army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan announced the establishment of a new government council two days ago. This excludes the civilian government, with which the military had shared power since 2019.
“The demonstrators are peaceful and demand democracy and the restoration of the civil rule that Burhan has taken from them,” said one of the activists in Khartoum. Burhan had previously stated that peaceful protests were allowed. Most of the gatherings broke up on Saturday night. According to eyewitnesses, however, the police used tear gas and fired gunfire.
The military dissolved the government at the end of October and declared a nationwide state of emergency. Burhan has headed a transitional council. The body is made up of 14 people, including civilians. Representatives of the so-called Forces for Freedom and Change (FFC), who had ruled the country together with the military since 2019, are not among them.