Five killed in protests against military rule in Sudan, doctors say

KHARTOUM, (Reuters) - Five people were killed during a crackdown by Sudanese security forces on nationwide protests against military rule on Dec. 30, a doctors' committee said yesterday.

Security forces had fired tear gas and stun grenades as protesters marched through Khartoum and the neighbouring cities of Omdurman and Bahri towards the presidential palace on Thursday, Reuters witnesses said.

Police said in a statement that four people were killed in Omdurman, and 297 demonstrators and 49 police were wounded nationwide in the protests, which involved tens of thousands of people.

The Central Committee of Sudanese Doctors, which is aligned with the protest movement, said a fifth person was killed after being hit in the chest by a tear gas canister fired by security forces during the protests on Thursday. It did not say where.

Al Hadath TV quoted an adviser to military leader Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan as saying the military would not allow anyone to pull the country into chaos and that continued protests were a "physical, psychological, and mental drain on the country" and "would not achieve a political solution".

Thursday's protests marked the 11th round of major demonstrations since an Oct. 25 coup that saw Abdallah Hamdok removed and then reinstated as prime minister. The demonstrators have demanded that the military play no role in government during a transition to free elections.

The Forces of Freedom and Change coalition said that security forces "used excessive repression" on Thursday and called on "regional and international communities and human rights organizations to condemn the coup".

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken wrote on Twitter that he was troubled by reports of lethal force and the United States "stands with the people of Sudan, as they demand freedom, peace, and justice".