15 killed in anti-coup protests in Sudan: Reports
Sudanese security forces have reportedly shot dead at least 15 anti-coup protesters and wounded dozens more in the capital, Khartoum, in the bloodiest day of violence since the military seized power on October 25.
People came to the streets to protest the military coup mainly in the Bahri and Omdurman neighborhoods of Khartoum on Wednesday even though telephone lines and internet services had been disrupted since the military took over. Activists had learned to mobilize via SMS rather than social networks. But since Wednesday midday, all forms of mobile communications have been halted.
Groups opposed to the recent military coup in Sudan had called for “marches of millions” on November 13 and 17 to protest the putsch and the military’s harsh crackdown on protesters.
“The people choose civilian rule,” and “Legitimacy comes from the street, not from the cannons,” the demonstrators chanted, also shouting slogans against Sudan’s military ruler General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan.
The demonstrators, mostly young men and women, clapped hands and ululated before the scene turned violent. As clashes broke out, the security forces fired live rounds and tear gas to prevent gatherings, injuring a number of protesters, witnesses said.
Earlier, on a main road in Khartoum, protesters burned tires and chanted “The people are stronger, and retreat is impossible.”
The Central Committee of Sudanese Doctors (CCSD), a pro-democracy union, said in a statement that security forces “used live bullets heavily in different areas of the capital” and that there were “tens of gunshot injuries, some of them in serious condition.”
The CCSD also said security forces had arrested injured people inside Khartoum hospitals and the death toll from the unrest since the military seized power had risen to 38 people. Hundreds more have been wounded.
There was no immediate comment from the security forces. Burhan has said previously that peaceful protests are allowed and the military does not kill protesters.
During the coup in late October, Burhan dissolved the cabinet and the ruling military-civilian sovereign council. He also declared a state of emergency and put Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok under an effective house arrest, while detaining other leading members of his government.
In the recent weeks, the military has been mounting a harsh crackdown on protesters, who have been taking to the streets after Sudan’s main opposition coalition called for civil disobedience and protests across the country hours after the apparent military coup.
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