Jan.9(Khartoum) Medics say one person killed after being struck by a tear gas canister as thousands of anti-coup protesters rally.
At least one demonstrator has been killed as security forces broke up a protest in Sudan’s capital Khartoum, as thousands took part in rallies rejecting military rule following a coup 11 weeks ago.
The coup, led by army chief General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan on October 25, derailed a power-sharing transition between the military and civilians that had been painstakingly established in the wake of the overthrow of longtime ruler Omar al-Bashir in 2019.
The Central Committee of Sudanese Doctors (CCSD), an independent group of medical workers, said a 26-year-old man was killed after being struck in the neck by a tear gas canister.
Protesters also rallied in Omdurman, Khartoum’s twin city, as well as northern Khartoum. The CCSD said on Saturday that medics would deliver a memorandum to United Nations officials listing and complaining about “assaults” against such facilities.
Last week, Sudan’s civilian Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok resignedsaying the country was at a “dangerous crossroads threatening its very survival”.
He had taken up his position back only on November 21, having originally been deposed along with his government in the October coup.
On Saturday, the UN said it would facilitate talks between key Sudanese stakeholders in a bid to resolve the crisis.
But the Forces for Freedom and Change (FFC), the civilian alliance which spearheaded the protests against al-Bashir and became integral to the transition government, said it had not received “any details” about the UN initiative.
On Sunday, the Sudanese Professionals Association – similarly instrumental in the anti-al-Bashir protests – said it completely “rejected” the UN-facilitated talks.
.