At least 9 killed in Sudan as protests against military coup continue
Street protests continued in the Sudanese capital of Khartoum Friday, as demonstrations continued against the military who seized power in a coup this week.
Protesters placed stones across roads and burnt tires, as heavily armed Sudanese security vehicles drove around the streets.
Since the demonstrations began at least nine people have been killed by security forces’ gunfire, according to the Sudan Doctors’ Committee and activists.
At least 170 others were wounded, according to the United Nations.
Pro-democracy activist groups have called for “million-person” marches on Saturday to bring the coup to a halt.
During Friday prayers in Khartoum, preachers in one packed mosque called for worshipers to attend the march on Saturday.
It comes as the Sudanese general who seized power said the military he heads will appoint a technocrat prime minister to rule alongside it within days.
In an interview with Russia’s state-owned Sputnik news agency published Friday, Abdel-Fattah Burhan said the new premier will form a cabinet that will share leadership of the country with the armed forces until planned elections in July 2023.
On Monday, Burhan dissolved the transitional government and detained Prime Minister Abddalla Hamdok, many government officials and political leaders in a coup condemned by the United States and the West.
The military takeover came after weeks of mounting tensions between military and civilian leaders over the course and pace of Sudan’s transition to democracy.
It has threatened to derail that process, which has progressed in fits and starts since the overthrow of longtime autocrat Omar al-Bashir in a popular uprising two years ago.
By AFRICANEWS
