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Fears of violence as Sudan gets ready for 'million man' march Fears of violence as Sudan gets ready for 'million man' march
(about 7 hours later)
Khartoum is bracing itself for a mass protest against Sudan’s ruling generals, as calls mount for restraint to prevent a new military crackdown on demonstrators. Tens of thousands of people have taken to the streets of Sudanese cities in the first mass demonstrations since a crackdown on a protest camp early in June left at least 128 people dead.
The planned “million man” march is seen as a test for protest organisers who were hit by a 3 June attack on a sit-in in the Sudanese capital and a subsequent internet blackout that limited their ability to mobilise support. In Khartoum, the capital, protesters demanded that the ruling transitional military council (TMC) hand over power to civilians, as security forces fired teargas at them.
Dozens of demonstrators were killed and hundreds wounded when armed men in military fatigues stormed the sit-in outside army headquarters, shooting and beating protesters who had camped there since 6 April. “Kabashi, you are a liar – the revolution has just started,” the protesters chanted, referring to the TMC spokesman Gen Shams Eddin Kabashi, and “Blood for blood, we won’t accept compensation.”
The new protest comes at a time when Ethiopia and the African Union (AU) are jointly mediating between the protesters and generals. One person was reported dead in Atbara in River Nile state, north of Khartoum. He was named as Khalid Awad, a 35-year-old father of three.
A top general, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, warned on Saturday that no vandalism would be tolerated. Protests against Sudan’s long-running dictator, Omar al-Bashir, began in Atbara in December, but since the military removed him in April they have refused to permit civilian rule.
“There are vandals, there are people who have an agenda, a hidden agenda. We don’t want problems,” said Dagalo, the ruling military council’s deputy head and chief of the feared paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). Talks between the military and civilian representatives over a power-sharing agreement collapsed this month when security forces violently broke up the Khartoum protests.
Protesters have voiced fears of new violence. Sunday’s protests also coincided with the the 30th anniversary of the Islamist-backed coup that brought Bashir to power. Demonstrators gathered at several points across the capital on before heading to neighbourhoods where the families of those who had died in the protests lived to pay respects to the “martyrs’ houses”.
“I expect large numbers ... and it’s very possible that security forces will use force against protesters,” said Mustafa, 25, who gave only his first name for security reasons, as he planned to participate. Protesters then moved to the airport avenue where they were blocked by more than 50 vehicles of police and the feared paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
Another protester, Talal, 29, was looking forward to Sunday’s rally, the first since the crackdown. Bridges that led to central Khartoum were also closed in response from a call from the Sudanese Professionals Association, a trade union organisation and the main civilian group involved in the protests, for protesters to head to the presidential palace.
“Even if only a few rallies take place in Khartoum, they will break the barrier of fear and more people will take to the streets in following days,” he said. Enas Salah, a mother of four protesting at the airport avenue along with thousands of others, said she was on the street because she was tired of “lies of the TMC. They said we don’t want power. Let them show us that they don’t want it for real.”
The umbrella protest movement, the Alliance for Freedom and Change, said demonstrators would launch rallies from several areas in Khartoum and its twin city of Omdurman, and march to the homes of some protesters killed in the 3 June raid. Samah Said, 23, a university graduate, said she was there “not only because of the high prices – we are here because of our martyrs … when we went out to protest peacefully they shot and killed us.”
About 130 people have been killed since the crackdown, the majority of them on that day, according to doctors close to the alliance. In Omdurman, the city across the Nile from Khartoum, thousands of people took to the streets, They were dispersed with teargas and the bridge was closed, blocking them from heading to central Khartoum.
The health ministry says 61 people died across the country on that day. Central Khartoum was quiet on Sunday. Many shops were closed and roads leading to the military headquarters were blocked.
The ruling military council insists it did not order the dispersal, but acknowledged “excesses” after orders were given to purge a nearby area notorious for drug peddling. Amjad Yousef, a protest organiser, said he would not “go back home unless all the demands of the revolution are met, by having a civilian government”.
The council has warned it will hold the alliance responsible for any fresh violence. Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti, who commands the RSF and is deputy head of the TMC, said three of his forces had been shot at. He said he would catch the perpetrators “and bring them to justice”.
“The country is going through a serious crisis, and we will hold the Alliance for Freedom and Change entirely responsible if any soul is lost in the march,” it said. Faisal Mohamed Salih, an analyst, said: “I did not expect this number of protesters to take to the streets but this shows that they have a strong and angry position.”
An RSF unit prevented protest leaders from holding a press conference to unveil plans for Sunday’s rally. The new protest comes at a time when Ethiopia and the African Union (AU) are jointly mediating between the protesters and generals. Ethiopia and the AU have proposed a blueprint for a civilian-majority body, which the generals say could be a basis for resuming talks.
Tension remains high between the two sides since the 3 June attack, which followed the collapse of talks over who should lead a new governing body – a civilian or a soldier.
Ethiopia and the AU have now proposed a blueprint for a civilian-majority body, which the generals say could be a basis for resuming talks.
Protesters had initially gathered at the military headquarters to seek the army’s support in ousting the longtime ruler Omar al-Bashir.
They kept up their sit-in to demand civilian rule after the generals seized power.
The European Union, several western nations and rights groups have called on the generals to avoid any violence on Sunday.
Mobilising protesters has become a challenge since the raid, with military rulers imposing a widespread internet blackout.Mobilising protesters has become a challenge since the raid, with military rulers imposing a widespread internet blackout.
In the lead-up to Bashir’s fall, tens of thousands of protesters were organised through social media, but now protest leaders have to resort to neighbourhood campaigns to keep the movement alive.In the lead-up to Bashir’s fall, tens of thousands of protesters were organised through social media, but now protest leaders have to resort to neighbourhood campaigns to keep the movement alive.
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Middle East and North AfricaMiddle East and North Africa
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