Local “resistance committees” and the Sudanese Professionals Association (SPA), which led demonstrations in the uprising that overthrew then-president Omar al-Bashir in April 2019, are organizing a campaign of protests to try to reverse the military takeover. are.
Residents said people were on the streets on Sunday in the center of the capital Khartoum, although there was less traffic than usual.
A teachers’ union said security forces used tear gas on the building of the Ministry of Education for the state of Khartoum to stage a sit-in to protest any transfer of military appointments. It said that around 87 people have been arrested.
Witnesses said that in the Burri neighborhood of Khartoum and across the river in Omdurman’s Ombada area, police also used tear gas to stop the protests.
Witnesses said protests also took place in the cities of Medan, Nyala and Atbara, where hundreds of people protested the reappointment of Bashir loyalists in the local government.
internet disruption
In Khartoum, some hospital and medical workers were working normally while others were on strike.
“Many people were not aware of the call for civil disobedience because of the internet shutdown,” a resident of central Khartoum said on condition of anonymity.
Internet services have been severely disrupted and phone coverage weak since the October 25 coup. Although daily life almost came to a standstill, shops, roads and some banks have reopened.
The coup halted a power-sharing arrangement between the military and civilians, which had been agreed upon after Bashir’s coup and was to lead to democratic elections by the end of 2023.
Top civilians, including several ministers, were detained, and Prime Minister Abdullah Hamdok was placed under house arrest.
Since the coup, UN-linked mediation efforts have called for the release of prisoners and a return to power-sharing, but sources in the ousted government say those efforts have stalled.
On Sunday, the commander in chief of the army, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, met with an Arab League delegation, which emphasized the importance of dialogue and democratic change, his office said in a statement.
The statement said Burhan told the delegation that the army was committed to achieving “the ambitions of the Sudanese people”.
Activists demanding the politics of exit from the army have announced protests for mass rallies on November 13 under the slogan “no talks, no partnerships, no compromises”.
Hundreds of thousands took to the streets against military rule in two demonstrations before and after the October 25 coup.
Western powers have halted economic aid to Sudan, saying relief on foreign debt worth tens of billions of dollars is at risk until democratic transition returns.
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