The Sudanese police launched tear gas on Wednesday to repress protests against the military coup last October, which left a young protester dead, according to a medical source.
The demonstrations were called for a double anniversary, those of the riots of 1985 and 2019 that, 34 years apart, overthrew two coup presidents.
Thousands of protesters took part in marches both on the east coast and in Darfur, a western region devastated by wars, shouting “No to military power” and “The people have chosen civilians”, witnesses told AFP.
In the capital, Khartoum, in the midst of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, the government decreed a holiday and the mobilization called for thousands of protesters
Police fired tear gas at columns of participants, witnesses reported.
In the evening, the union announced the death of a 19-year-old protester, bringing the death toll to 94 since the October 25 coup.
A pro-democracy doctors’ union said security forces “took Al Jawda hospital by force,” also using tear gas that “caused respiratory problems for doctors and patients.”
Social networks have been boiling for days with calls for an uprising on April 6 against the coup that put General Abdel al-Burhan in power on October 25, 2021.
The ad evokes a “storm” or an “earthquake” like those of 1985 and 2019, in a country mired in a serious political and economic crisis.
On April 6, 1985, a popular rebellion overthrew President Yaatar al Numeiry, after years of harsh rule.
And in 2019, a mass sit-in outside military headquarters in Khartoum capped months of protests against dictator Omar al Bashir, ousted just five days later after three decades in power.
Last year’s coup ended a fragile civil-military power-sharing deal after Bashir’s fall, leading to an entirely civilian government and free elections in 2023.
– “Month of victories” –
Pro-democracy demonstrators have since taken to the streets on several occasions in protests that have left 93 dead and hundreds injured, according to medical associations.
“It is an important day … We hope that many will take to the streets despite the heat and Ramadan,” said Badwi Bashir, a protester in Khartoum. “We just want to end the coup and end the prospect of future coups.”
Yaafar Hasan, spokesman for the Forces of Freedom and Change (a civil alliance that brings together representatives revoked by the October coup), said that April is “the month of victories for the Sudanese.”
Since taking power, military leaders have tightened control of the country, arresting prominent civilian leaders and revoking positions assigned during the transition.
On Saturday, Burhan said he would only “hand over power to an honest and elected authority, accepted by all the Sudanese people.”
– Financial needs –
The coup has damaged the weak Sudanese economy with the interruption of Western donations agreed during the transition period and the increase in the prices of food, fuel and basic products.
The United Nations has warned of the growing humanitarian and food needs in Sudan. According to the World Food Program, the number of Sudanese facing acute famine will double to more than 18 million by September 2022.
Crime and violence have increased in some remote areas, particularly in the flammable Darfur region, according to the United Nations.
On Thursday, clashes between Arab and non-Arab tribes left 45 dead in southern Darfur, which in 2003 was the scene of a serious conflict with atrocities investigated by the International Criminal Court.
