At least one person killed in Sudan protests: Medical group

A 28-year-old was killed during anti-coup protests in Khartoum, according to a Sudanese medical group, as the health ministry says more than 100 others were injured.

A Sudanese protester waves the national flag during an anti-coup rally in the capital Khartoum [AFP]

At least one person was killed during protests in Khartoum against Sudan’s military coup on Sunday, an independent medical group has said, as the health ministry confirmed that more than 100 others were injured.

Hundreds of thousands of people staged protests on Sunday in Khartoum. They faced volleys of tear gas and stun grenades from security forces.

The Central Committee of Sudanese Doctors identified the victim as 28-year-old Muhammad Majzoub Muhammad Ahmad in a Twitter post on Monday. At least 45 people have been killed during protests since the October 25 coup, according to the group’s tally.

The group has accused security forces of using live bullets and tear gas to disperse the rallies, assaulting protesters and stealing their personal property. It also said they encircled hospitals and fired tear gas at the entrances.

“The authors of the coup committed heinous violations against our people,” the group said in a statement.

There was no immediate comment from Sudanese security forces.

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Some protesters managed to reach the gates of the presidential palace. The protest organisers called on more people to join a planned sit-in there after sundown, but footage showed those who remained being tear gassed heavily.

Some 123 people were injured, according to the Sudanese health ministry, in Khartoum, its twin cities of Bahri and Omdurman, and the eastern city of Kassala.

Sunday’s protest was the ninth big demonstration since the army seized power on October 25.

It marked the anniversary of the 2018 burning of a governing party building which sparked a popular uprising that led to the overthrow of long-ruling President Omar al-Bashir.

Demonstrations have continued even after the reinstatement of Prime Minister Abdulla Hamdok last month, with protesters demanding no more military involvement at all in government in a transition towards free elections.

The military and civilian political parties, known as the Forces of Freedom and Change Coalition (FFC), had shared power since al-Bashir’s removal. The agreement reinstating Hamdok angered protesters, who had seen him as a symbol of resistance to military rule and perceived his reinstatement as a betrayal.

Civilian parties and neighbourhood resistance committees have organised several widescale protests to demand full civilian rule, under the slogan “no negotiation, no partnership, no legitimacy”.

Halla Arabi, who joined the protests on Sunday, told Al Jazeera she was demanding civilian rule. “Here I am now and I’ll continue to protest until there is a civilian government and there is peace, freedom and justice,” she said.

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Husameldin Omar Nasri, who also took to the streets of Khartoum, said “the revolution never ended”.

“It is continuing and we will continue until we will achieve all of our goals.”

Source: Al Jazeera and news agencies

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