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Two Dead in Countrywide Protests Against Sudan Military Coup

Sudanese March in Countrywide Protests Against Military Coup

Sudanese doctors said two protesters were killed and more than 100 injured by security forces amid mass protests against Monday’s military coup.

Hundreds of thousands of pro-democracy demonstrators marched across cities in Sudan on Saturday to protest the toppling of the joint civilian-military government by the army.

Since the military removed the government led by Abdalla Hamdok as prime minister on Monday, doctors, oil workers, academics, bankers and others have staged protests. The coup has thrown the North African nation’s democratic transition into chaos two years after long-time dictator Omar al-Bashir was ousted. 

Two Dead in Countrywide Protests Against Sudan Military Coup

Prior to Saturday’s protest at least 14 people have been killed and about 170 injured in clashes with security forces since Monday, according to the Central Committee of Sudanese Doctors. The same group said two more were killed and more than 100 injured on Saturday in Omdurman, the twin city of the capital Khartoum when security forces used rubber bullets and live rounds on a large group of demonstrators.

A media adviser for the army didn’t immediately respond to calls and messages seeking comment on Saturday.

Videos and photos of Saturday’s protest posted on social media platforms showed thousands of demonstrators lining the streets in several districts of the capital, Khartoum. 

“We are against the coup, because it has ousted the prime minister chosen by the Sudanese people,” Sara Al-Imam, 21, said from Street 60 in downtown Khartoum. “Hamdok is representing the hopes and the revolutionary demands of civilian rule. So they have to free him and other ministers immediately.”

U.S. President Joseph Biden on Friday called on the Sudanese authorities to allow protesters in the country to demonstrate peacefully and to restore the civilian-led transitional government. “I have admired the courage of the Sudanese people in demanding their voices be heard and helping their country make strides toward a new, democratic Sudan. The events of recent days are a grave setback,” Biden said in a statement.

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