In Sudan, anti-Putsch protesters brave tear gas and fly dams – archyworldys

It is a test day for Sudanese protesters, supporters of civil power, as well as for the generals in power. The security forces tried to disperse, with tear gas canisters, hundreds of opponents of the coup in Khartoum and its suburbs, Saturday, November 13.

The partisans of power to civilians, reduced to organizing themselves by SMS or graffiti on the walls, while Internet access has been cut off for three weeks, want to show that they still weigh. For their part, the military will have to show restraint to reassure the international community which has condemned the October 25 coup in Sudan.

As with every show of force in the street, security forces fired tear gas canisters at hundreds of demonstrators in Omdurman, a northwest suburb separated from the Sudanese capital by a bridge over the Nile, journalists from the Nile noted. AFP. They set up flying dams in the capital and its suburbs to block the demonstrators.

From the early hours of the morning, soldiers and paramilitaries of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) positioned themselves en masse in Khartoum, blocking the bridges connecting the center to its two suburbs (Omdourman and Khartoum-North) and crisscrossing the main axes.

While it was impossible to move from one neighborhood to another, one witness reported demonstrators in the south of the capital, while hundreds of others managed to protest in Omdurman. “Down with the council”, “No to military power”, they chanted.

Reinstate the Prime Minister and the transitional government

The day before, the United States and several European countries denounced the appointment in Sudan of a new sovereignty council from which the representatives of the bloc were excluded demanding a transfer of power to civilians. This new sovereignty council was appointed on Thursday by General Abdel Fattah Al-Bourhane, author of a coup.

In a joint statement, the United States, the European Union, the United Kingdom, Norway and Switzerland said “Extremely concerned” through this initiative, “Contrary to the aspirations of the Sudanese people as well as to the political and economic stability of the country”.

“We strongly advise against any further escalation and reiterate our call for the immediate reinstatement of Prime Minister Hamdok and the civilian-led transitional government”, they added.

These countries also urged the armed forces to “Respect the rights of Sudanese citizens to express their opinions freely”, on the eve of a new day of mobilization, scheduled for Saturday.

Since the coup, fifteen people have been killed and more than 300 injured in the repression of protests, according to doctors. Hundreds of opponents and activists have been arrested, according to unions and other pro-democracy associations.