7 killed in Sudan protests calling for civil rule
Thousands of demonstrators protested in Khartoum near the presidential palace today to demand civil rule in the country.
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The Sudanese protest in Khartoum calling for civil rule
Thousands of Sudanese took to the streets again today, Monday, in demonstrations calling for civil rule in the country.
In response, the Sudanese police fired tear gas canisters to disperse the demonstrators who were heading to the presidential palace in Khartoum.
Seven protesters were killed in the process, according to the Ministry of Health in Khartoum.
The Sudan Doctors Committee announced that the death toll from today's demonstrations has risen to seven after the police used live bullets and caused many injuries.
While some activists posted on social media some scenes of protesters who were injured by tear gas canisters fired by the Sudanese police, others reported that the police fired rubber bullets, directly targeting some of the demonstrators.
السلطات الأمنية السودانية تطلق الغاز المسيل للدموع تجاه مئات المتظاهرين بالعاصمة #الخرطوم وفقا لمراسل #سبوتنيك#السودان pic.twitter.com/1XUVJ8Ob1E
— وكالة سبوتنيك للأنباء (@Sputnik_AR_News) January 17, 2022
The killings bring the death toll of protesters killed since the October 25 coup led by General Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan to 72.
Ten places had been identified earlier for protesters to gather in central Khartoum before heading to the presidential palace.
The committees called on the demonstrators to "block the streets with stones to be protected against the Sudanese security forces."
السلطات الأمنية السودانية تطلق الغاز المسيل للدموع تجاه مئات المتظاهرين بالعاصمة #الخرطوم وفقا لمراسل #سبوتنيك#السودان pic.twitter.com/1XUVJ8Ob1E
— وكالة سبوتنيك للأنباء (@Sputnik_AR_News) January 17, 2022
Why is all this happening?
Sudanese citizens have been taking to the streets to voice their demands since the coup took place, calling for an end to the military rule. The authorities have been responding with suppression, leading to deaths and hundreds of injuries so far.
The killing of protesters is speculated to have led to the resignation of Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok.
The former Prime Minister stressed that he made his best efforts to enhance freedoms, lift the country off the State Sponsors of Terrorism list, take Sudan out of international isolation, and reintegrate it into the international community.
