Sudanese call for protests as death toll rises to 40
KHARTOUM: Sudanese anticoup activists called for mass protests on Sunday, as medics said the number of people killed since last month’s military takeover had risen to at least 40.
Both the United States and African Union have condemned the deadly crackdown on protesters and called on Sudan’s leaders to refrain from the “excessive use of force”.
Sudan’s top general Abdel Fattah al-Burhan on Oct 25 declared a state of emergency, ousted the government and detained the civilian leadership.
The military takeover upended a two-year transition to civilian rule, drew wide international condemnation and punitive measures, as well as provoking people to take to the streets.
The Sudanese Professionals Association (SPA) have urged protesters to keep up their campaign.
On Saturday, pro-democracy activists made online calls for mass anti-coup protests with a “million-strong march on Nov 21”.
The SPA is an umbrella of unions which were instrumental in the months-long demonstrations that led to the ousting of president Omar alBashir in April 2019.
Protests on Wednesday provoked the deadliest day so far, with the toll of those killed now standing at 16 after a teenager who was shot in the head died, medics said.
Most of those killed on Wednesday were in North Khartoum, which lies across the Nile river from the capital, medics said.
Police officials deny using any live ammunition and insist they have used “minimum force” to disperse the protests. They have recorded only one death, among demonstrators in North Khartoum.
On Friday, small groups of protesters rallied in several neighbourhoods 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.
The SPA said security forces had “stormed homes and mosques” there on Friday.
“We call for those responsible for human rights abuses and violations, including the excessive use of force against peaceful protesters, to be held accountable,” US State Department spokesman Ned Price said.
“In advance of upcoming protests, we call on Sudanese authorities to use restraint and allow peaceful demonstrations,” he added.
The African Union, which suspended Sudan after the coup, also condemned “in the strongest terms” Wednesday’s violence, in a statement released Saturday.
AU Commission chair Moussa Faki Mahamat called on Sudan’s authorities “to restore constitutional order and the democratic transition” in line with a 2019 power-sharing deal between the military and the now-deposed civilian figures.
We call for those responsible for human rights abuses and violations, including the excessive use of force against peaceful protesters, to be held accountable. In advance of upcoming protests, we call on Sudanese authorities to use restraint and allow peaceful demonstrations.
— Ned Price, US State Department spokesman