Military kills 2 protesters in anti-coup rallies in Sudan

By Mahmoud al-Bazm

KHARTOUM, Sudan (AA) - Two people were killed in demonstrations against military rule in the Sudanese capital Khartoum, according to the Central Committee of the Sudanese Doctors (CCSD).

"Two protesters were fatally shot by the coup forces in suppressing demonstrations in the Bahri area in Khartoum," the committee said in a statement. "Coup forces are using live bullets extensively in separate areas in Khartoum which led to dozens of injuries with live bullets, some of them critical.”

The Sudanese Professionals Association accused the army of practicing "excessive repression" against protesters in booth Khartoum and Omdurman, Sudan’s most populous city.

"Putschist forces are practicing excessive repression and are encircling the protests in Bahri, Al-Siteen Street and Umbadah," the group said on Twitter. "Tear gas canisters are used on a large scale, while there are reports of multiple injuries.”

Sudanese groups urged mass rallies Wednesday to demand civilian rule amid tension about last month’s military takeover.

Internet service has been cut since the takeover on Oct. 25.

The head of Sudan’s ruling military council, Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, declared a state of emergency and dissolved the transitional Sovereign Council and government amid rival protests and accusations between the military and politicians in the country.

Al-Burhan insists that the measures are meant to protect the country from “imminent danger” and accused those rejecting his move as “stirring chaos.”

He issued a decree last week to form a new ruling transitional council, appointing himself its chairman.

​​​​​​​Before the military takeover, Sudan was administered by a precarious power-sharing council between the military and the Unity of the Forces for Freedom and Change, which was overseeing the transition period until elections in 2023.

* Writing by Bassel Barakat in Ankara