In Sudan, demonstrators continue their movement despite repression


At least two people were killed Sunday in Khartoum, while the protest against the confiscation of power by the putschist generals finds a second wind. The Prime Minister announced his resignation.

Neither the Internet shutdown nor the deployment of soldiers armed with machine guns dissuaded the Sudanese demonstrators from protesting once again on Sunday against the coup d’état and the confiscation of the revolution by the generals. “The soldiers in the barracks”, “the power to the people”, chanted thousands of people in Khartoum, the Sudanese capital, calling for 2022 to be “The year of the continuation of resistance”. As of Sunday morning, the authorities cut off Internet access and communications from cell phones, as they did a few days ago, when they also blocked calls to and from abroad.

At least two demonstrators were killed by security forces, according to an initial report released late Sunday afternoon. Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok, the regime’s only civilian component, announced his resignation on Sunday evening in a televised address.

A new stage in the repression had been crossed Thursday, during a previous day of mobilization. Six people were shot dead in Omdurman, Khartoum’s twin city on the other side of the Nile.

The authorities fail to stem a movement which has experienced a new lease of life since December 19, when the demonstrators first reached the doors of the presidential palace. The agreement concluded on November 21 between the leader of the putschist generals, Abdel Fattah al-Burhane, and the civilian Prime Minister, Abdallah Hamdok, who had returned to power, had been hailed by the international community but received with skepticism by the revolutionaries who had recalled curtly their demands: “No negotiation, no partnership, no legitimacy.” They have since maintained pressure in the streets, despite increasing violence from the security forces, who have killed 54 people since the October 25 coup.

In December, the UN human rights office said it had received thirteen testimonies of rape and gang rape, a new weapon used to break the protest. The resistance committees, these small groups which structure the opposition movement, are also targeted by arrests, even suspicious disappearances. Agents raided the editorial offices of several international media outlets, journalists were attacked and prevented from covering current events.

Police and the formidable paramilitaries of the Rapid Support Forces (FSR) are now targeting hospitals and medical centers. On Thursday, a clinic in Omdurman was stormed by the regime’s men. Opposite, the demonstrators adapt their tactics and modus operandi. They create groups around the places of care so that the injured can be taken care of. Motorcycles roam the gatherings to quickly evacuate those who would be affected. Protesters on Sunday faced tear gas and police charges.

The authorities had previously installed containers, using cranes, on the main roads leading to Khartoum to isolate the capital from its suburbs. Devices overwhelmed by the anger of a people who cannot resign themselves to losing their revolution, after a first victory in October 2019.

Our latest articles on the coup in Sudan

Update January 2 at 9:50 p.m.: announcement of the Prime Minister’s resignation



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