Thousands of Sudanese took to the streets of Khartoum on Thursday to protest against last year’s coup, witnesses said, pressing on with angry protests in defiance of a deadly crackdown.
The demonstrations in the capital and other cities were the latest since the military seized power on October 25, triggering international condemnation and punitive measures.
The coup upended a transition to civilian rule after the 2019 ouster of autocratic president Omar al-Bashir, following mass protests against his iron-fisted three decades in power.
“No, no to military rule,” the protesters chanted at the biggest rally in Khartoum, also urging the military to “Go back to the barracks”.
Sudan, one of the world’s poorest countries, has been reeling from a plunging economy due to decades of international isolation and mismanagement under Bashir.
Since the coup led by army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the northeast African country has suffered from international aid cuts and economic turmoil
Its currency, the pound, has plummeted in value and prices of food and fuel have skyrocketed.
Protesters turned out in large numbers on Thursday despite a crackdown that, according to medics, has left dead at least 89 people and wounded hundreds.
“This is the third time for me to take to the streets after economic conditions worsened,” Iman Babiker said at a protest in North Khartoum.
“It has become unbearable.”
Demonstrators have over the past two days set up barricades of bricks, tree branches and burning car tyres on the main streets of the Sudanese capital.
Sudan has yet to appoint a prime minister since the January resignation of premier Abdalla Hamdok, who remained under house arrest for weeks before he was reinstated.
In an interview published on Wednesday by the Saudi Asharq Al-awsat newspaper, Burhan said he hoped a new prime minister would be nominated after the agreement of political factions in Sudan.
