KHARTOUM (Middle East Eye) – Sudanese security forces fired tear gas at a huge crowd of protesters near the republican palace in Khartoum on Sunday as thousands of demonstrators marked the third anniversary of the beginning of protests that eventually ousted former President Omar al-Bashir.
Earlier, security forces had blocked major highways and bridges going into the capital ahead of the protests, as demonstrators had gathered to also denounce the military’s October coup.
“The people want the downfall of Burhan,” protesters shouted against the current military chief, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, who led the coup on 25 October.
The notorious Rapid Support Forces were deployed alongside the military and police to guard the presidential palace against protesters.
“The numbers are huge and security forces can’t control them,” said Mohamed Hamed, who saw protests in Omdurman, Khartoum’s twin city.
Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok said in a statement on Saturday that Sudan’s revolution faced a “major setback” and that stubbornness from all sides threatened the country’s unity and stability.
“We face today a major setback to the path of our revolution that threatens the country’s security, unity, and stability, which alerts us to the beginning of a backslide into a pit that leaves us neither a nation nor a revolution,” Hamdok said.
Protest organizers have however vowed, in a key slogan, “No negotiation, no partnership and no legitimacy”.
Sunday’s protest is the ninth demonstration against the coup despite the military reinstating Hamdok, who had been under house arrest, and releasing other high-profile detainees.
Protesters saw the move to bring back Hamdok as a betrayal of the revolution and have vowed to continue fighting against the military.
The Central Committee of Sudanese Doctors, the most well-known pro-democracy medical organization in Sudan, said 45 people had been killed in crackdowns on protests since the coup.
On Sunday morning, witnesses told Reuters that protesters were brought on buses from other states, including North Kordofan and Gezira, to join the protests in the capital.
Late on Friday, tear gas was fired by unidentified sources at thousands of anti-government protesters in Khartoum as they gathered to support the Forces for Freedom and Change movement.