A bloody fight for democracy

AUTHORITIES in Sudan must immediately halt unnecessary and disproportionate use of force against protesters, the UN human rights office, OHCHR, said this week, calling for those responsible for abuses to be brought to justice.

The ongoing conflict in Sudan, which is now heading into its second year, saw the bloodiest day this week since the conflict began 14 months ago.

Sudanese security forces have killed at least 67 people during rallies against last year’s military coup, medics and an activist have said, before a visit by US diplomats seeking to revive a transition to civilian rule, according to media reports.

On Monday, thousands of protesters demonstrating against military rule marched towards the presidential palace in the capital, Khartoum, drawing volleys of tear gas from security forces.

As crowds of people marched chanting slogans and waving flags, the near-daily demonstrations haven’t deterred protesters opposed to the military rule.

On Tuesday, Sudanese shuttered shops and barricaded streets with burning tyres and rocks, staging angry rallies to protest against one of the bloodiest days since a coup derailed the country's democratic transition.

On Thursday, dozens of Sudanese judges and prosecutors have condemned the killing of more than 70 protesters since October’s coup and have called for a criminal investigation, local media have reported.

Frequent protests have been met with live gunfire and tear gas, and thousands are once again out on the streets of the capital Khartoum.

A statement from 55 judges to the head of the judiciary said military

leaders had carried out heinous violations against defenceless protesters.

Furthermore, in Khartoum, its twin city of Omdurman, in Port Sudan, Wad Madani Obaid and the western Darfur region, thousands continue to oppose General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan’s power grab, which ended a power-sharing arrangement that began after longtime ruler Omar al-Bashir was removed from power amid a popular uprising in April 2019.

Furthermore, Unicef regional director for the Middle East and North Africa, Ted Chaiban, said on Wednesday that over 120 grave violations against children had been verified across Sudan since the military coup

on October 25 last year. According to the UN agency, nine children were killed during demonstrations mainly in Khartoum while another 13 were injured.

Most violations were against adolescent boys. Boys and girls as young as 12 were detained. Children were impacted as a result of frequent attacks on medical facilities.

“Unicef has reiterated its call on authorities in Sudan to protect children across Sudan from harm and violence at all times, saying that children are not a target, including during conflict or political events.

With the crisis escalating in Sudan, there have been 15 reports of attacks

on health-care workers and health facilities since last November, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said on Wednesday.

According to WHO’s regional director for the Eastern Mediterranean, Ahmed Al-Mandhari, the Organisation is following the escalating crisis “with great concern”.

So far, 11 incidents have been confirmed in the capital, Khartoum, and other cities.

“Most of these attacks were committed against health-care workers in the form of physical assault, obstruction, violent searches, and related psychological threats and intimidation,” Al-Mandhari said.

Earlier this month, internet and mobile services were interrupted in the country as thousands of people again took to the streets of the capital Khartoum to protest against military rule, local media reported.

According to BBC News Africa, some bridges between Khartoum and the adjoining cities of Omdurman and Bahri were closed for the rally.

This comes after Sudan’s Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok resigned on Sunday, amid a political deadlock and widespread protests following a military coup last year that derailed the country’s fragile transition to democracy. Hamdok said the country was at a “dangerous turning point that threatens its whole survival”.

Sudan’s coup leader rejected calls by the troika on Sudan – comprising the US, Britain, and Norway – and the EU to appoint a new prime minister in accordance with a constitutional declaration which gives the right of the nomination to the Forces for Freedom and Change (FFC).

Following Hamdok’s resignation, the troika and the EU urged the commander in chief of the Sudanese army, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, to select a prime minister after dialogue with his partners in the transitional authority that has been in place since 2019.

A fresh wave of anti-coup protests flared up across Sudan in December as demonstrators continued to demand an end to the military rule established in early October.

Meanwhile, the Sudanese Professionals Association, which led the protests on Thursday, has urged citizens to get involved in demanding civilian rule.

More than 50 people have been killed in protests since the coup, according to pro-democracy group the Sudan Central Doctors’ Committee.