Sudanese security forces launch deadly attack in Bahri city, as Burhan pressures Hamdok to lead technocratic government

Two protesters in the Bahri area of the Sudanese tri-city capital of Khartoum were killed and several others injured on Thursday night when security forces fired live ammunition at protesters to remove barricades set up to defy the military’s seizure of power earlier this week, according to eyewitnesses and medical sources who spoke to Mada Masr.

At least eight other people were killed and scores injured on Wednesday night in similar clashes as security forces tried to remove street barricades in Omdurman and Khartoum Bahri, among other areas, medical sources said. 

With at least four people confirmed killed on Monday as security forces opened fire on crowds in central Khartoum, the total death toll since Monday, when the Sudanese Armed Forces and Rapid Support Forces seized power, has reached at least 14 people.

Deposed Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok, who was returned to his house on Tuesday and remains there under a heavy security detail after his arrest on Monday morning by security forces, has come under pressure from security forces to head a new government. However, Hamdok has thus far refused to do so, two of his advisors told Mada Masr on Tuesday night. 

In a statement issued on Thursday night, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan said that “Hamdok is the first choice to head the government despite his reservations,” blaming an unnamed “third party” for obstructing a new cabinet formation.

Protesters maintained a presence on the street for the fourth consecutive day on Thursday to demand civilian government after Burhan dissolved the Cabinet and Sovereignty Council and declared a state of emergency on Monday morning, arresting the prime minister and at least four other civilian cabinet ministers, several civilian members of the council, as well as over 300 members of the Freedom and Change Coalition, which played a leading role in coordinating the 2018 revolution and from which the civilian ministers were appointed to government. 

Reports of widespread arrests among labor organizers and activists also continued across the Sudanese states on Thursday, with the Sudanese Journalists Network reporting the arrest of a former media advisor to Hamdok, Fayez al-Silaik, following other high-profile arrests on Tuesday.

With telecommunications networks still suspended within the country, multiple sources attested to interference in international calls that have been the primary route for information to flow in and out of Sudan since Monday.

A call for public disobedience continued to stall work across the country in preparation for a “march of millions” planned for Saturday. Work in the public sector ground to almost a complete halt except the most essential services, while state oil refinery workers announced Wednesday they would join the strike which already spanned the medical, aviation, academic and services sectors. A Tuesday decree issued by Burhan dissolved union and syndicate steering committees, though Mada Masr correspondents on the ground said the decree went largely ignored. 

The aviation authority suspended flights on Tuesday night until early on Saturday morning, while tribes in the east of the country blocked traffic at Port Sudan on Tuesday night as well. Burhan fired Ibrahim Adlan, the head of the aviation authority, on Wednesday.

As security forces continue to use violence against protesters and Burhan and his deputy Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti, continue to try to form a technocratic government, international pressure continues to mount. 

On Thursday, United States President Joe Biden released a statement to send an “overwhelming and clear message” to Sudan’s military authorities that “the Sudanese people must be allowed to protest peacefully and the civilian-led transitional government must be restored.” Biden urged for the immediate release of “all those detained” and for the restoration of “the institutions associated with the transitional government, in line with the 2019 Constitutional Declaration and the 2020 Juba Peace Agreement.” 

Several multilateral organizations and several governments have suspended aid to the country, the last of which was the World Bank. Following years of isolation from the international finance system, the transitional government was undertaking economic reforms that unlocked billions of dollars in financing from institutions like the World Bank and IMF.

Burhan met with Volker Perthes, the UN Special Representative for the Secretary General in Sudan on Wednesday, which the Sudanese Armed Forces newspaper said was “to discuss developments in the current political situation, and ways to get out of the crisis in order to achieve stability and peace in the country.” The military outlet also highlighted a similar meeting with the ambassador of Saudi Arabia. 

According to a statement issued by US State Secretary Antony Blinken, he and the Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud “condemned the October 25 military takeover in Sudan and its effect on the stability of Sudan and the region” in a call on Tuesday. No corresponding statement was issued from Riyadh. 

The military leadership in Khartoum will not be able to navigate the international criticism of their move to seize power using normal diplomatic channels, as Burhan fired six of Sudan’s ambassadors — to the United States, the European Union, France, Qatar, China and the UN mission in Geneva — after they condemned the military takeover.