Sudan: thousands rally in Khartoum to protest military coup

Thousands of Sudanese protesters and opposition groups took to the streets of the capital on Tuesday (13 September) and marched toward the Presidential Palace in Khartoum to press demands for a return to civilian rule following a military coup last year.
Marching on Africa Street and the Eldaim area toward downtown, many carrying posters criticizing the military; others showed pictures of some of the 116 people that have reportedly been killed in a previous crackdown on the anti-coup protests. The protests come amid a deep split in the opposition regarding talks led by the international community. This spit was reflected in that the protestors denounced ongoing negotiations between the political coalition of the Forces for Freedom and Change (FFC) and the military under the sponsorship of international mediation led by the United States, United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates which is backed by the United Nations’ Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan.
Police used tear gas, sticks and rubber bullets to disperse the protesters, some of whom were injured and taken to nearby hospitals, according to a doctors’ group. Sudan has been rocked by waves of demonstrations since the armed forces led by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan grabbed power last October. In July, Burhan pledged to step aside and make way for Sudanese factions to agree on a civilian government, a move that civilian leaders dismissed as a „ruse”. In June, the UN said a record 15 million people in Sudan — around one-third of the population — were facing “acute food insecurity” and warned the situation was likely to get worse.