Sudanese security forces fired ammunition and tear gas at pro-democracy protesters in the capital Khartoum on Thursday, according to activists, as nationwide demonstrations against the October 25, 2021, military coup continued.
The military takeover of Prime Minister Abdullah Hamdok’s civilian government comes after weeks of escalating tensions between military and civilian leaders over Sudan’s transition to democracy.
The coup threatens to derail the process, which had progressed slowly since the overthrow of long-time autocrat Omar al-Bashir in a popular uprising in 2019.
Since the ouster of the civilian government, marches have been organized on an almost daily basis by the pro-democracy movement.
According to online footage and activists, protesters marched under tight security in various parts of Khartoum, its twin city of Omdurman and the western region of Darfur on Thursday.
As protesters in Khartoum demanded the removal of military leaders from power and the establishment of a civilian government to lead the transition, at least six people in the Bahri district were wounded by gunfire when security forces dispersed demonstrators. Ammunition fired to the scatter, according to activist Nazim Sirag.
According to a pro-democracy movement, security forces fired tear gas to disperse protesters on a road leading to the palace.
Videos online showed white smoke, possibly from tear gas, as some demonstrators fled, while others threw stones at soldiers.
Police said Colonel Ali Hamad was killed while providing security at a protest near the presidential palace. Police spokesman Idris Abdullah Idris told Sudan TV that Hamad was “martyr ho gaya” (a martyr was killed) after a police statement said that Hamad “received fatal blows to various parts of his body by groups of demonstrators”. “
More than 60 people have been killed and hundreds more injured in protests since the coup, which Sudan’s military chief of staff, General Abdel-Fatah al-Burhan, said was necessary to avoid civil war.
Some information in this report has been received from The Associated Press and Reuters.
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