Sudanese anti-coup activists call for mass protest as death toll climbs to 40

Anti-coup activists in Sudan have called for mass protests on Sunday as the death toll since last month's military takeover in the African country rises to at least 40.

Pro-democracy activists on Saturday made online calls for mass anti-coup protests with a "million-strong march on November 21."

In 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 following the military coup. Groups opposed to the recent military coup in Sudan had already called for ‘marches of millions’ on November 13 and 17 to protest the putsch.

The Sudanese Professionals Association (SPA) has called on protesters to continue their campaign.

The SPA is an umbrella of 17 different unions that were instrumental in the months-long demonstrations that led to the ousting of president Omar al-Bashir in April 2019.

Fresh clashes between police and anti-coup protesters rocked the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, on Thursday just a day after 15 protesters were killed in a crackdown, marking the deadliest day in the African country since the military putsch.

Police flattened makeshift barricades that protesters had put up on Wednesday, when security forces shot dead at least 15 protesters, most of them in north Khartoum. Over 100 other demonstrators were also wounded, including 80 who sustained gunshots to their upper bodies and heads.

"One martyr passed away... after he succumbed to severe wounds after being hit by live rounds to the head and the leg on November 17," the independent Central Committee of Sudanese Doctors said on Saturday. He was aged 16, it added.

Police officials say they did not use any live ammunition, insisting that they have used "minimum force" to disperse the protests.

More than two years ago, massive anti-government demonstrations, mostly over deteriorating economic problems, hit Sudan, with protesters, mostly the youth, demanding that Bashir step down.

Bashir was ultimately deposed through a military coup following months of protests in April 2019, after ruling over the country for three decades. In August that year, a governing council comprised of civilian and military leaders, was founded to run the country. The transitional civilian-military administration, Sudan’s highest executive authority, is tasked with leading the country to free and fair multiparty elections.

However, a military coup, led by Sudan's military chief and de-facto leader General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, was staged on October 25 that dissolved the fragile government. Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok was detained and put under house arrest in a move that infuriated the Sudanese and drew international condemnation, including from the UN Security Council. Other civilian leaders are in military detention.

New clashes between police, anti-coup protesters rock Sudan capital after deadliest day since October coup

Police in the Sudanese capital have attacked anti-coup protesters just a day after 15 protesters were killed in a crackdown.

Small groups of protesters rallied on Friday in several neighborhoods after prayers against the military coup, especially in North Khartoum, where people were seen building barricades across roads. Security forces sporadically fired tear gas to disperse them.

According to the SPA, security forces had "stormed homes and mosques" on Friday.

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