Tens of Thousands of Sudanese Protesters Rally Against Coup

Tens of thousands of Sudanese pro-democracy protesters marched near the presidential palace in the capital, Khartoum, to protest last month’s military coup of the country. Sudanese security forces fired tear gas and chased protesters in order to disperse the demonstrations on Tuesday. Protests also took place Tuesday in Port Sudan, Kassala, Nyala and Atbara.

The October 25 takeover was led by Sudanese Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and ousted the civilian coalition that had been set to take over the government as part of a power-sharing agreement signed two years ago. Less than two weeks after the coup, Burhan announced that he will not be part of the new government, and deposed Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok was restored to his position as head of the government. Hamdok said he would name a “technocratic government” of qualified professionals to lead the country to democratic elections.

Military and civilian groups in Sudan had been sharing power since the country’s former leader Omar al-Bashir was ousted in 2019 following months of street protests. The country was moving toward civilian rule and a democratic election by the end of 2023. The military was scheduled to hand over leadership of the council to a civilian leader in the coming months though no specific date had been set.

Western powers have condemned the coup and suspended economic assistance to Sudan, which suffered a deep economic crisis.