UPDATE - 1 police officer killed as fresh protests demand full civilian rule in Sudan

UPDATES WITH ONE OFFICER KILLED

By Bahram Abdel Moneim

KHARTOUM (AA) – A police officer was killed as Sudan on Thursday witnessed a fresh round of rallies calling for full civilian rule in the country.

The rallies took place in the capital Khartoum, and Bahri, Omdurman and Madani cities, witnesses said.

Holding national flags and chanting anti-military rule slogans, protesters demanded the return of democratic civilian rule.

“A full civilian state”, “The revolution is a people’s revolution, the authority is the authority of the people, and the military is for the barracks,” read some of the banners.

Meanwhile, the Sudanese police announced that one police officer was killed during the demonstrations in Khartoum.

In a statement, the police said: “Brig. Gen. Ali Brima Hammad was killed while performing his duty to protect the demonstrators next to the Astak factory.”

Sudan has been in turmoil since Oct. 25, 2021 when the military dismissed Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok’s transitional government and declared a state of emergency.

Prior to the military takeover, Sudan was governed by a sovereign council of military and civilian officials tasked with overseeing the transition period until elections in 2023.

Hamdok resigned on Jan. 2, six weeks after he returned to his post as part of a deal with army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, an agreement rejected by most political groups in Sudan.

It is the first time since the beginning of the protests that bridges remained open to traffic, except for the el-Mek Nimr bridge that links Khartoum and the city of Bahri, according to an Anadolu Agency correspondent, who said there was a heavy security presence at the bridge’s entrances and exits.

The protests were called by the Coordination of the Khartoum Resistance Committees, the Sudanese Professionals Association, and the Forces of the Declaration of Freedom and Change.

* Writing by Ibrahim Mukhtar