Issued on: 08/11/2021
Sudanese security forces on Sunday fired tear gas at multiple anti-coup rallies, with protesters in several cities joining a call for two-days of civil disobedience against last month's military takeover. FRANCE 24's Karim Yahiaoui reports from Khartoum.
Sudan security fires tear gas as anti-coup campaign starts
Sudaese women walk in front of tyres set ablaze by anti-coup demonstrators in the capital Khartoum, on November 7, 2021 - AFP
Khartoum (AFP) – Sudanese security forces on Sunday fired tear gas at an anti-coup rally by a group of teacher at the start of a two-day civil disobedience call against last month's military takeover.
Dozens of teachers carried banners reading "no, no to military rule" and called for a transition to "full civilian rule" at a rally outside the education ministry in the capital Khartoum.
Nationwide anti-coup protests -- including by tens of thousands on October 30 -- have occurred since the October 25 coup but have been met by a deadly crackdown. At least 14 demonstrators have been killed and about 300 wounded, according to the independent Central Committee of Sudan's Doctors.
"We organised a silent stand against the decisions by Burhan outside the ministry of education," said Mohamed al-Amin, a geography teacher who took part in that stand against the country's top general, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan.
"Police later came and fired tear gas at us though we were simply standing on the streets and carrying banners," he said.
There were no immediate reports of casualties but a union of Sudanese educators said "a large number of teachers were detained."
The teachers' rally came after the military leadership which carried out the coup replaced heads of department at the education ministry, as part of sweeping changes it made in multiple sectors.
"The protest rejects the return of remnants of the old regime" of ousted president Omar al-Bashir, the teachers union said in a Facebook post.
Sunday's rally followed calls for civil disobedience made by the Sudanese Professionals Association (SPA), an umbrella of unions which were instrumental in the 2018-2019 protests which ousted the longtime autocrat Bashir in April 2019.
"The Sudanese people have rejected the military coup," the SPA said on Twitter, vowing "no negotiation, no partnership, no legitimacy".
"We will start by barricading the main streets to prepare for the mass civil disobedience on Sunday and Monday," it said, urging protesters to avoid confrontation with the security forces.
Since late Saturday, protesters were seen piling up bricks and large slabs to block streets in Khartoum and neighbouring cities, according to witnesses and AFP correspondents.
The latest resistance effort came almost two weeks after Burhan dissolved the government as well as the ruling joint military-civilian Sovereign Council that was supposed to lead the country toward full civilian rule.
Protesters built street barricades in Khartoum after the call for civil disobedience - AFP
Burhan also declared a state of emergency and detained Sudan's civilian leadership.
Text messages
The SPA circulated its latest appeals via text messages to bypass internet outages since the putsch.
By Sunday morning, some shops were still open but others were shuttered in Khartoum and its twin cities of Omdurman and Khartoum-North, according to witnesses.
"Movement on the streets is less than usual but there is not full blockage of streets or closure of shops" after the civil disobedience call, said a witness from Omdurman who declined to give his name fearing reprisals.
Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok was briefly detained but later placed under effective house arrest.
On Thursday, the military released four civilian members of his government but other key figures remain in detention.
The same day, security forces arrested other civilian leaders near a United Nations building in Khartoum following their meeting with UN special representative in Sudan Volker Perthes.
"We call upon the military leadership to cease arresting politicians and activists and to stop committing human rights violations," Perthes said in a statement on Friday.
Burhan insists it "was not a coup" but a move to "rectify the course of the transition."
© 2021 AFP
Sudaese women walk in front of tyres set ablaze by anti-coup demonstrators in the capital Khartoum, on November 7, 2021 - AFP
Khartoum (AFP) – Sudanese security forces on Sunday fired tear gas at an anti-coup rally by a group of teacher at the start of a two-day civil disobedience call against last month's military takeover.
Dozens of teachers carried banners reading "no, no to military rule" and called for a transition to "full civilian rule" at a rally outside the education ministry in the capital Khartoum.
Nationwide anti-coup protests -- including by tens of thousands on October 30 -- have occurred since the October 25 coup but have been met by a deadly crackdown. At least 14 demonstrators have been killed and about 300 wounded, according to the independent Central Committee of Sudan's Doctors.
"We organised a silent stand against the decisions by Burhan outside the ministry of education," said Mohamed al-Amin, a geography teacher who took part in that stand against the country's top general, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan.
"Police later came and fired tear gas at us though we were simply standing on the streets and carrying banners," he said.
There were no immediate reports of casualties but a union of Sudanese educators said "a large number of teachers were detained."
The teachers' rally came after the military leadership which carried out the coup replaced heads of department at the education ministry, as part of sweeping changes it made in multiple sectors.
"The protest rejects the return of remnants of the old regime" of ousted president Omar al-Bashir, the teachers union said in a Facebook post.
Sunday's rally followed calls for civil disobedience made by the Sudanese Professionals Association (SPA), an umbrella of unions which were instrumental in the 2018-2019 protests which ousted the longtime autocrat Bashir in April 2019.
"The Sudanese people have rejected the military coup," the SPA said on Twitter, vowing "no negotiation, no partnership, no legitimacy".
"We will start by barricading the main streets to prepare for the mass civil disobedience on Sunday and Monday," it said, urging protesters to avoid confrontation with the security forces.
Since late Saturday, protesters were seen piling up bricks and large slabs to block streets in Khartoum and neighbouring cities, according to witnesses and AFP correspondents.
The latest resistance effort came almost two weeks after Burhan dissolved the government as well as the ruling joint military-civilian Sovereign Council that was supposed to lead the country toward full civilian rule.
Burhan also declared a state of emergency and detained Sudan's civilian leadership.
Text messages
The SPA circulated its latest appeals via text messages to bypass internet outages since the putsch.
By Sunday morning, some shops were still open but others were shuttered in Khartoum and its twin cities of Omdurman and Khartoum-North, according to witnesses.
"Movement on the streets is less than usual but there is not full blockage of streets or closure of shops" after the civil disobedience call, said a witness from Omdurman who declined to give his name fearing reprisals.
Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok was briefly detained but later placed under effective house arrest.
On Thursday, the military released four civilian members of his government but other key figures remain in detention.
The same day, security forces arrested other civilian leaders near a United Nations building in Khartoum following their meeting with UN special representative in Sudan Volker Perthes.
"We call upon the military leadership to cease arresting politicians and activists and to stop committing human rights violations," Perthes said in a statement on Friday.
Burhan insists it "was not a coup" but a move to "rectify the course of the transition."
© 2021 AFP
87 teachers arrested in sit-in protesting Sudan coup
At least 87 teachers were arrested Sunday while conducting a sit-in in protest of Sudan's military coup late last month. Photo by EPA-EFE
Nov. 7 (UPI) -- Security forces in Sudan on Sunday arrested dozens of teachers protesting a coup that unseated the nation's prime minister last month.
At least 87 teachers were arrested during demonstrations in the capital city of Khartoum in opposition to the military assuming power and appointing members of former dictator Omar al-Bashir's regime to educational roles, the Sudanese Professionals Association said.
The teacher's union said that security forces used tear gas to disperse the sit-in at the education ministry building.
Tear gas was also deployed to break up protests in the Burri neighborhood, witnesses said according to CNN.
Protests also took place in the cities of Medani, Nyala and Atbara Sunday.
Some hospital workers and other medical staff were also on strike Sunday although some continued to work as plans for the protests failed to reach them after internet services were badly disrupted during the coup.
Sudan's military on Oct. 25 seized control of the country, and detained Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok and other government officials in an apparent coup.
It also imposed a state of emergency as protesters took to the streets, resulting in violence, and dissolved the governing Transitional Sovereignty Council, which Hamdok led.
On Sunday, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, commander in chief of the military, met with a delegation from the Arab league as he told them the military was committed to achieving "the Sudanese people's ambitions."
At least 87 teachers were arrested Sunday while conducting a sit-in in protest of Sudan's military coup late last month. Photo by EPA-EFE
Nov. 7 (UPI) -- Security forces in Sudan on Sunday arrested dozens of teachers protesting a coup that unseated the nation's prime minister last month.
At least 87 teachers were arrested during demonstrations in the capital city of Khartoum in opposition to the military assuming power and appointing members of former dictator Omar al-Bashir's regime to educational roles, the Sudanese Professionals Association said.
The teacher's union said that security forces used tear gas to disperse the sit-in at the education ministry building.
Tear gas was also deployed to break up protests in the Burri neighborhood, witnesses said according to CNN.
Protests also took place in the cities of Medani, Nyala and Atbara Sunday.
Some hospital workers and other medical staff were also on strike Sunday although some continued to work as plans for the protests failed to reach them after internet services were badly disrupted during the coup.
Sudan's military on Oct. 25 seized control of the country, and detained Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok and other government officials in an apparent coup.
It also imposed a state of emergency as protesters took to the streets, resulting in violence, and dissolved the governing Transitional Sovereignty Council, which Hamdok led.
On Sunday, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, commander in chief of the military, met with a delegation from the Arab league as he told them the military was committed to achieving "the Sudanese people's ambitions."
Sudan anti-coup protesters block streets
Despite a deadly crackdown, protests in Sudan have continued since the military coup, including this march by youths in Khartoum on November 4, 2021 - AFP/File
Issued on: 07/11/2021
Khartoum (AFP) – Sudanese anti-coup demonstrators built street barricades in and around the capital overnight Saturday following calls for civil disobedience to protest last month's military coup.
Activists were seen working in darkness to pile up bricks and large slabs to block streets in Khartoum and neighbouring cities, according to witnesses and AFP correspondents.
Their preparation followed calls for civil disobedience made by the Sudanese Professionals Association (SPA), an umbrella of unions which were instrumental in the 2018-2019 protests which ousted the longtime autocratic president Omar al-Bashir.
The SPA circulated its appeals via text messages to bypass internet outages since October 25, the day of the putsch.
"The Sudanese people have rejected the military coup," the SPA said on Twitter, vowing "no negotiation, no partnership, no legitimacy"
"We will start by barricading the main streets to prepare for the mass civil disobedience on Sunday and Monday," it said, urging protesters to avoid confrontation with the security forces.
Nationwide protests -- including by tens of thousands on October 30 -- have been met by a deadly crackdown. At least 14 demonstrators have been killed and about 300 wounded, according to the independent Central Committee of Sudan's Doctors.
By Sunday morning, some shops were still open but others were shuttered in Khartoum and its twin cities of Omdurman and Khartoum-North, according to witnesses.
"Movement on the streets is less than usual but there is not full blockage of streets or closure of shops" after the civil disobedience call, said a witness from Omdurman who declined to give his name fearing reprisals.
Almost two weeks ago Sudan's top general Abdel Fattah al-Burhan dissolved the government as well as the ruling joint military-civilian Sovereign Council that was supposed to lead the country toward full civilian rule.
He also declared a state of emergency and detained Sudan's civilian leadership, including Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok and members of his government.
Hamdok was later placed under effective house arrest and the military has since Thursday released four civilian members of his government.
The military takeover sparked international condemnation, including punitive aid cuts and demands for a swift return to civilian rule.
Burhan insists it "was not a coup" but a move to "rectify the course of the transition."
© 2021 AFP
Despite a deadly crackdown, protests in Sudan have continued since the military coup, including this march by youths in Khartoum on November 4, 2021 - AFP/FileIssued on: 07/11/2021
Khartoum (AFP) – Sudanese anti-coup demonstrators built street barricades in and around the capital overnight Saturday following calls for civil disobedience to protest last month's military coup.
Activists were seen working in darkness to pile up bricks and large slabs to block streets in Khartoum and neighbouring cities, according to witnesses and AFP correspondents.
Their preparation followed calls for civil disobedience made by the Sudanese Professionals Association (SPA), an umbrella of unions which were instrumental in the 2018-2019 protests which ousted the longtime autocratic president Omar al-Bashir.
The SPA circulated its appeals via text messages to bypass internet outages since October 25, the day of the putsch.
"The Sudanese people have rejected the military coup," the SPA said on Twitter, vowing "no negotiation, no partnership, no legitimacy"
"We will start by barricading the main streets to prepare for the mass civil disobedience on Sunday and Monday," it said, urging protesters to avoid confrontation with the security forces.
Nationwide protests -- including by tens of thousands on October 30 -- have been met by a deadly crackdown. At least 14 demonstrators have been killed and about 300 wounded, according to the independent Central Committee of Sudan's Doctors.
By Sunday morning, some shops were still open but others were shuttered in Khartoum and its twin cities of Omdurman and Khartoum-North, according to witnesses.
"Movement on the streets is less than usual but there is not full blockage of streets or closure of shops" after the civil disobedience call, said a witness from Omdurman who declined to give his name fearing reprisals.
Almost two weeks ago Sudan's top general Abdel Fattah al-Burhan dissolved the government as well as the ruling joint military-civilian Sovereign Council that was supposed to lead the country toward full civilian rule.
He also declared a state of emergency and detained Sudan's civilian leadership, including Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok and members of his government.
Hamdok was later placed under effective house arrest and the military has since Thursday released four civilian members of his government.
The military takeover sparked international condemnation, including punitive aid cuts and demands for a swift return to civilian rule.
Burhan insists it "was not a coup" but a move to "rectify the course of the transition."
© 2021 AFP
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