Thousands of Sudanese march against military rule, return of Bashir men
07 February 2022 - 23:49
byKhalid Abdelaziz
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A protester takes part in a march against military rule in Khartoum, Sudan, on Monday. Picture: EL TAYEB SIDDIG/REUTERS
Khartoum — Thousands of Sudanese marched against military rule on Monday in Khartoum and other cities, with some voicing concern about the return to government of members of the ousted regime of former president Omar al-Bashir.
In the capital, security forces firing repeated rounds of teargas blocked protesters trying to reach the presidential palace, stopping them more than a kilometre away from the building, a Reuters witness said.
Some people were seen injured and bleeding, and others fainted, carried away on motorcycles.
“Kill, kill, we’re not scared,” some Khartoum protesters chanted. Others gathered in the nearby cities of Bahri and Omdurman, and regional capitals Madani, Kassala, and El Geneina.
Protesters were more numerous than in recent weeks in Khartoum and several other cities.
Huge crowds have regularly taken to the streets demanding a return to civilian rule since a coup on October 25 ended a power-sharing arrangement that began in 2019. The protests have continued despite a crackdown that has killed at least 79 and injured more than 2,000, according to medics aligned with the protest movement.
Military leaders have said the coup was necessary as a corrective measure, that the right to protest is protected, and have called investigations into protester deaths.
Led by neighbourhood resistance committees, protesters have demanded the military exit politics completely and accused the military of working with members of the Bashir’s regime.
“We came out today to gain civilian rule and to stop the return of members of Bashir's party that (Gen Abdelfattah) al-Burhan reappointed. They want to bring back Bashir’s regime,” said Hassan Ahmed, a 41 year old engineer.
Bashir was ousted by the army following a 2019 popular uprising and replaced by a military-civilian power-sharing arrangement which ended after the Oct. 25 coup.
Since then the military has appointed some Bashir-era veterans to a caretaker government and begun to review the work of a task force that sought to seize regime assets and remove members from the civil service.
Fired employees have been reinstated at the country's foreign ministry, justice ministry, judiciary, and central bank.
A Sudanese journalists union said three BBC journalists were arrested while covering the protest, and warned of continued targeting of journalists, citing an assault on reporters for Al Jazeera earlier in the week.
Support our award-winning journalism. The Premium package (digital only) is R30 for the first month and thereafter you pay R129 p/m now ad-free for all subscribers.
Thousands of Sudanese march against military rule, return of Bashir men
Khartoum — Thousands of Sudanese marched against military rule on Monday in Khartoum and other cities, with some voicing concern about the return to government of members of the ousted regime of former president Omar al-Bashir.
In the capital, security forces firing repeated rounds of teargas blocked protesters trying to reach the presidential palace, stopping them more than a kilometre away from the building, a Reuters witness said.
Some people were seen injured and bleeding, and others fainted, carried away on motorcycles.
“Kill, kill, we’re not scared,” some Khartoum protesters chanted. Others gathered in the nearby cities of Bahri and Omdurman, and regional capitals Madani, Kassala, and El Geneina.
Protesters were more numerous than in recent weeks in Khartoum and several other cities.
Huge crowds have regularly taken to the streets demanding a return to civilian rule since a coup on October 25 ended a power-sharing arrangement that began in 2019. The protests have continued despite a crackdown that has killed at least 79 and injured more than 2,000, according to medics aligned with the protest movement.
Military leaders have said the coup was necessary as a corrective measure, that the right to protest is protected, and have called investigations into protester deaths.
Led by neighbourhood resistance committees, protesters have demanded the military exit politics completely and accused the military of working with members of the Bashir’s regime.
“We came out today to gain civilian rule and to stop the return of members of Bashir's party that (Gen Abdelfattah) al-Burhan reappointed. They want to bring back Bashir’s regime,” said Hassan Ahmed, a 41 year old engineer.
Bashir was ousted by the army following a 2019 popular uprising and replaced by a military-civilian power-sharing arrangement which ended after the Oct. 25 coup.
Since then the military has appointed some Bashir-era veterans to a caretaker government and begun to review the work of a task force that sought to seize regime assets and remove members from the civil service.
Fired employees have been reinstated at the country's foreign ministry, justice ministry, judiciary, and central bank.
A Sudanese journalists union said three BBC journalists were arrested while covering the protest, and warned of continued targeting of journalists, citing an assault on reporters for Al Jazeera earlier in the week.
Reuters
Sudan soldiers fire on protesters at rally in Khartoum
After Sudan’s Abdalla Hamdok quits as leader, US calls for civilian rule in Sudan
Sudan security forces fire teargas to disperse latest anti-coup protest
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