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Tens of thousands of Sudanese protesters rallied Sunday for a civilian-led transition to democracy, three years since the start of mass demonstrations that led to the ouster of veteran strongman Omar al-Bashir.
Security forces fired tear gas canisters – leaving several wounded, witnesses said – as activists at the presidential palace in Khartoum chanted slogans against military chief General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, who led a coup on October 25.
“The people want the downfall of Burhan,” the protesters shouted as additional security forces were deployed to surround the growing crowd.
Sudan’s generals in the post-Bashir transition government launched their coup almost two months ago and held civilian leader Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok under effective house arrest for weeks but reinstated him on November 21.
The move alienated many of Hamdok’s pro-democracy supporters, who dismissed it as providing a cloak of legitimacy for Burhan’s coup.
“Any coup, even after the reinstatement of Hamdok, is unacceptable,” a protester in his twenties told AFP as thousands waving Sudanese flags marched past him.
“Our glorious December revolution is seeking civil institutions, not particular individuals.”
‘Slide toward abyss’
Hamdok, who has argued he wants to avoid further bloodshed, warned late Saturday of “the country’s slide toward the abyss,” urging restraint from the protesters.
“We’re facing today a sizeable regression in the path of our revolution that threatens the security of the nation, its unity and its stability,” he said.
Protest organisers have however vowed, in a key slogan, that they want “no negotiation, no partnership and no legitimacy” for the current leadership.
Another demonstrator, in his early thirties and also draped in a Sudanese flag, said “I came out today in complete refusal of the…
Source : france24
