By The Switzerland Times
-January 9, 2022
A Sudanese protester was killed on Sunday as security forces fired tear gas at thousands of people who gathered to keep pressure on the military, a day before the UN launched talks aimed at putting end to weeks of crisis after a coup.
The October 25 takeover, led by army chief General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, derailed a civil-military power-sharing transition established after the 2019 ouster of the long-time autocrat. date Omar al-Bashir.
It has also sparked regular protests – sometimes in the tens of thousands – from Sudanese wanting a return to democratic transition in a country with a long history of coups.
The latest death brings the number of protesters killed in the crackdown on anti-coup protests to 62, the Sudanese Central Medical Committee said in a statement.
They said the 26-year-old protester who was killed was “hit by a tear gas canister in the neck” fired by security forces.
He died a day before the United Nations held a press conference launching a dialogue between “all major civilian and military actors” to find a way forward “towards democracy and peace,” the special envoy said. UN Volker Perthes.
Earlier Sunday, a teenager died from live gunshot wounds to the neck suffered during Thursday’s protests, doctors said.
Pro-democracy protesters marched again to the presidential palace in central Khartoum on Sunday and also gathered in northern Khartoum, witnesses said.
“No, no to military rule,” they chanted, waving the national flag.
Main streets around the capital were cordoned off in an attempt to prevent people from converging there and at the army headquarters, which was the epicenter of the mass protests that forced Bashir to leave.
Protesters also gathered in Omdurman, the twin city of Khartoum across the Nile, and Wad Madani in the south, witnesses said.
“We will not accept less than a full-fledged civilian government,” said Ammar Hamed, 27, protesting in Khartoum.
Authorities have repeatedly denied using live ammunition to confront protesters and insist that many members of the security forces were injured in protests which often “deviated from the calm.”
The protests had died down by nightfall.
Doctors condemn raids on hospitals
Doctors in white coats joined Sunday’s rallies to protest the security forces storming hospitals and other medical facilities in previous protests.
The Sudanese Central Committee of Physicians, affiliated with the protest movement, said on Saturday that the medics would hand over a memorandum to UN officials listing the “attacks” against such facilities.
Last week, Sudanese civilian Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok resigned, saying the country was at a “dangerous crossroads threatening its very survival”. He did not resume his duties until November 21, after being ousted with his government during the coup.
Analysts said his departure left full control of the military and threatened a return to the repression of the Bashir era.
“It’s time to end the violence and get into a constructive process,” Perthes said on Saturday announcing the talks.
Last week, the United States, Britain, Norway and the European Union warned that Sudan could plunge into conflict and called for “an immediate dialogue, led by the Sudanese and facilitated by the international community” .
But the Forces for Freedom and Change, the civil alliance that led the protests against Bashir and became part of the transitional government, said it had received “no details” of the initiative. ‘UN.
The Sudanese Professionals Association, also central to anti-Bashir protests, said on Sunday that it “completely rejects” the UN-facilitated talks.
“The way to resolve the Sudanese crisis begins with the complete overthrow of the putschist military council and bringing its members to justice for the killings committed against the defenseless (and) peaceful Sudanese people,” SPA said in a statement.
Burhan insisted that the military takeover “was not a coup” but was intended only to “rectify the course of the Sudanese transition”.
The UN Security Council is due to meet on Wednesday to discuss developments in Sudan.
The resumption of protests since the coup has been met with a crackdown
that has killed at least 60 people.
Sudan protest organizers reject UN mediation offer
One of Sudan's leading protest organizers has refused a UN call for dialogue aimed at restoring civilian rule. The UN has hoped to broker talks between the anti-coup movement and the military.
Protesters in Sudan rallied again on Sunday in support of a return to civilian rule
One of the major organizers of Sudan's anti-coup protests, the Sudanese Professionals' Association, refused an offer from the UN to mediate talks with the military on Sunday.
The UN has hoped to help broker a deal following a military coup last October.
The UN envoy to Sudan, Volker Perthes, has said talks were the "sustainable path forward toward democracy and peace," and called for an "end to the violence." He claimed the process would be "inclusive," though protesters do not seek a power-sharing agreement but rather a return to civilian rule.
Perthes has planned a news conference for Monday, where it is expected he will outline the details of his proposal. The UN Security Council will meet Wednesday to discuss Sudan.
Forces for the Declaration of Freedom and Change, the umbrella coalition for the groups behind the protests, said it had not received any details of Perthes' proposal.
Why does the UN wish to broker talks?
The UN's offer to mediate comes a week after the resignation of Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok. He said the inability of the generals to compromise with protesters was behind his decision to step down.
Sudan PM quits, leaving military in control
The Sudanese Professionals' Association has said it sees Perthes as being behind that arrangement, which they've discredited as it sidelined pro-democracy forces, a position Hamdok similarly realized was untenable when he resigned.
The protest organizers' rejection of the offer came amid renewed protests on Sunday, which are expected to continue.
More than 60 people have been killed since the military took over.
What has the protest movement said?
The Sudanese Professionals' Association said in a statement that the "only way" out of the crisis was through the removal of the generals from the seats of power in the country.
The protest movement wants civilian leadership restored, underscored by the protest slogan, "No negotiations, no compromise, no power-sharing'' with the generals.
The coup on October 25 came two years after mass protests led to the ouster of the country's previous longtime autocratic ruler, Omar al-Bashir.
Together with youth groups known as Resistance Committees, the Sudanese Professionals' Association have buttressed the movement against military rule.
What happened Sunday during the protests?
On Sunday, protests in the capital, Khartoum, and other cities continued as thousands rallied against the country's military rulers.
Activist Nazim Sirag told the AFP news agency that security forces fired tear gas at protesters near the presidential palace. One protester was injured when security forces opened fire in Khartoum's Bahri district.
The Sudanese Doctors Committee said a teenage protester, Alaa el-din Adel, 17, died Sunday after succumbing to a wound to the neck during protests in Omdurman near Khartoum. His death brings the total number of people who have died since protests began to 61, the committee said.
Health care workers in white coats also joined protests Sunday calling for security guarantees at hospitals which have been stormed by the government during protests.
ar/wd (AFP, AP)
One of Sudan's leading protest organizers has refused a UN call for dialogue aimed at restoring civilian rule. The UN has hoped to broker talks between the anti-coup movement and the military.
Protesters in Sudan rallied again on Sunday in support of a return to civilian rule
One of the major organizers of Sudan's anti-coup protests, the Sudanese Professionals' Association, refused an offer from the UN to mediate talks with the military on Sunday.
The UN has hoped to help broker a deal following a military coup last October.
The UN envoy to Sudan, Volker Perthes, has said talks were the "sustainable path forward toward democracy and peace," and called for an "end to the violence." He claimed the process would be "inclusive," though protesters do not seek a power-sharing agreement but rather a return to civilian rule.
Perthes has planned a news conference for Monday, where it is expected he will outline the details of his proposal. The UN Security Council will meet Wednesday to discuss Sudan.
Forces for the Declaration of Freedom and Change, the umbrella coalition for the groups behind the protests, said it had not received any details of Perthes' proposal.
Why does the UN wish to broker talks?
The UN's offer to mediate comes a week after the resignation of Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok. He said the inability of the generals to compromise with protesters was behind his decision to step down.
Sudan PM quits, leaving military in control
The Sudanese Professionals' Association has said it sees Perthes as being behind that arrangement, which they've discredited as it sidelined pro-democracy forces, a position Hamdok similarly realized was untenable when he resigned.
The protest organizers' rejection of the offer came amid renewed protests on Sunday, which are expected to continue.
More than 60 people have been killed since the military took over.
What has the protest movement said?
The Sudanese Professionals' Association said in a statement that the "only way" out of the crisis was through the removal of the generals from the seats of power in the country.
The protest movement wants civilian leadership restored, underscored by the protest slogan, "No negotiations, no compromise, no power-sharing'' with the generals.
The coup on October 25 came two years after mass protests led to the ouster of the country's previous longtime autocratic ruler, Omar al-Bashir.
Together with youth groups known as Resistance Committees, the Sudanese Professionals' Association have buttressed the movement against military rule.
What happened Sunday during the protests?
On Sunday, protests in the capital, Khartoum, and other cities continued as thousands rallied against the country's military rulers.
Activist Nazim Sirag told the AFP news agency that security forces fired tear gas at protesters near the presidential palace. One protester was injured when security forces opened fire in Khartoum's Bahri district.
The Sudanese Doctors Committee said a teenage protester, Alaa el-din Adel, 17, died Sunday after succumbing to a wound to the neck during protests in Omdurman near Khartoum. His death brings the total number of people who have died since protests began to 61, the committee said.
Health care workers in white coats also joined protests Sunday calling for security guarantees at hospitals which have been stormed by the government during protests.
ar/wd (AFP, AP)
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