Sudan's capital locked down ahead of protests demanding civilian rule

By Barham Abdel-Moneim

KHARTOUM, Sudan (AA) - To counter protests demanding civilian rule, Sudan on Thursday deployed security forces in the capital Khartoum, closing the main roads leading to the presidential palace and army headquarters.

Security forces began checking passing cars before the start of the protests calling for "complete civilian rule."

According to Anadolu Agency's reporter on the ground, security forces blocked most of the bridges using shipping containers and closed streets in the center of the capital with concrete barriers and barbed wire to prevent demonstrators from reaching the presidential palace, and the headquarters of the army commander and head of the Transitional Sovereignty Council General Abdel-Fattah al-Burhan.

The Suba bridge, which connects the city of East Nile and the capital, witnessed massive traffic congestion, angering commuters.

On Wednesday, resistance committees issued a public call to hold a new round of demonstrations in the capital and the rest of the North African country's cities on Thursday to demand full civilian rule and reject what the protesters consider a military coup.

On Sunday, Sudan's transitional prime minister submitted his resignation hours after three people were killed during the protests.

Sudan has been in turmoil since Oct. 25 when the Sudanese military dismissed Abdalla Hamdok's transitional government and declared a state of emergency.

Before the Oct. 25 military takeover, Sudan was administered by a sovereign council of military and civilian officials overseeing the transition period until elections in 2023 as part of a precarious power-sharing pact between the military and the Forces of Freedom and Change coalition.

*Writing by Bassel Barakat in Ankara