Following the military takeover last year, thousands of Sudanese flocked to the streets to once again call for civilian government as security forces sprayed tear gas at them.
In the nation’s capital Khartoum on Thursday, demonstrators could be seen waving Sudanese flags and chanting, “No, no to military rule” and “Civilian government is the people’s choice.”
Tear gas was shot by the security forces to scatter the demonstrators.
Since army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan staged a military coup in October, Sudan has been shaken by nearly weekly protests and a deadly crackdown that has so far claimed at least 116 lives.
After Omar al-Bashir, a strongman who reigned for thirty years, was overthrown in 2019, a transition to civilian rule was put into motion. The power grab upset that process.
Political upheaval, a deepening economic crisis, and an uptick in interethnic violence have all been plaguing Sudan.
Burhan promised to stand down last month in a televised speech to allow Sudanese factions to settle on a civilian government.
His action was criticised as a “ruse” by civil leaders who had been overthrown in the coup, and pro-democracy demonstrators have stuck to their rallying cry of “no negotiation, no collaboration” with the military.
Burhan’s deputy and paramilitary leader Mohamed Hamdan Daglo acknowledged earlier this month that the October coup had not succeeded in bringing about change in Sudan.
“The whole thing failed and now we (Sudan) have become worse off,” he said.
