At least 6 killed in nationwide demonstrations against military rule in Sudan after security forces deploy violence, obstruct medical care

At least six protesters were killed by Sudanese security forces in the tri-city capital of Khartoum on Saturday, the Khartoum State Health Ministry said, including a 15-year-old boy, while at least 40 were injured according to medical sources who spoke to Mada Masr, during nationwide demonstrations against military rule as the country nears its third week since the armed forces and Rapid Support Forces seized power in Sudan. 

According to a statement issued by police on Sudanese state television, 39 police officers were seriously injured during the demonstrations.

Following a call by the Sudanese Professionals Association and local resistance committees — groups that played a central role in coordinating the 2019 ouster of President Omar al-Bashir — hundreds of thousands of protesters filled the streets of Khartoum and its twin cities of Bahri and Omdurman, as well as Port Sudan in the state of Red Sea, Obeid in North Kordofan, Madani in Jazira, and the southeastern state of Gedaref.

Sources who spoke to Mada Masr in the capital described the security forces using extreme violence, including live ammunition fire and tear gas against crowds, as well as tactics intended to humiliate protestors, like forcibly shaving their hair. Others described concerted efforts on the part of security forces to block access to hospitals and medical care. 

A source who spoke on condition of anonymity told Mada Masr that “security [forces] attacked two hospitals in Omdurman city and prevented ambulances from transporting some critical cases from Omdurman to Khartoum.” 

Medical sources also told Mada Masr that many hospitals were attacked and ambulances prevented from transporting the injured from Omdurman to Bahri city.

After coup leader and head of the armed forces General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan announced the formation of a new sovereign council on Thursday with himself at its head, the protests called for a rollback of the 2018 constitutional declaration, the framework that underpinned the military-civilian power sharing agreement that collapsed with the security forces’ power grab on October 25, pushing instead for a complete exit of the military from government.

Protesters who filled key streets across the tri-city capital were met with a violent response by police and other security forces in 60 Street, 7 Station, Gabra, Burri and other areas in Khartoum, as well as in 40 Street and al-Thawra neighborhood in the city of Omdurman, and in Shambat neighborhood in the city of Bahri.

University student Ahmed Osman, 20, described the violence that he said was deployed by police, other security forces and the Rapid Support Forces in 60 Street.

“The police and security forces used tear gas and live ammunition, rubber bullets and other tools, as well as different types of troops during the violence against the protesters,” he told Mada Masr.

Police denied using live ammunition against protestors, accusing them of deviating from their plans to protest peacefully.

Hussein Adam, 40, told Mada Masr that security forces’ use of violence against the protesters was unprecedented, describing it as worse than that practiced under the deposed Bashir regime. “What I saw today was full scale street fighting, including the use of heavy weapons and tools as well as the deployment of unknown forces to participate in the suppression of the protesters. We saw brutal actions, including the use of snipers as well as beating and cutting the hair of protesters and humiliating them,” he added.

Protests are set to continue until Monday, after the Sudanese Professionals Association declared two days of civil disobedience.

The demonstrations come after Burhan announced the formation of a new sovereign council on Thursday with himself at its head, and with head of the Rapid Support Forces militia Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo as his deputy.

Burhan had announced the dissolution of the part-military, part-civilian sovereign council on October 25 as widespread arrests were carried out targeting members of the Freedom and Change Coalition, the coordinating body from which civilians were appointed to the sovereign council and cabinet, including deposed prime minister Abdalla Hamdok. 

Hamdok remains heavily guarded under house arrest. Two of his advisors told Mada Masr on October 28 that he was under extreme pressure to accept a position at the head of a new technocratic government, a solution that international actors including f the United States, the United Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia have endorsed despite the rejection of a military role in the formation of Sudan’s next government.

The Qatar-based Al-Jazeera news outlet also said its bureau chief was arrested on Saturday, amid continued harassment and intimidation tactics that various journalists on the ground in Sudan have described to Mada Masr. Major disruption of telecommunications networks also continued on Saturday for the twentieth consecutive day.