KHARTOUM —
Sudanese security forces arrested a senior opposition leader Tuesday, as
officers fired tear gas to stop thousands of protesters rallying against last
year’s military coup, an AFP correspondent said.
اضافة اعلان
The demonstrations were the latest since an
October 25 military takeover led by army chief
Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, which
was followed by a broadening crackdown on civilian and pro-democracy figures in
the north-east African nation.
At least 85 people have been killed and
hundreds wounded by security forces during over four months of protests
demanding civilian rule and justice for those killed in demonstrations,
according to medics.
On Tuesday, security forces fired a barrage
of acrid tear gas at crowds heading towards the presidential palace in the
center of the capital Khartoum, with several people injured, an AFP
correspondent said.
Tuesday’s protests coincided with
International Women’s Day.
Crowds chanted slogans in support of Sudanese
women — who have played a key role in the recent protest movement — as well as
in the rallies that paved the way to the 2019 ouster of longtime autocrat Omar
Al-Bashir.
“Long live the ‘Kandakas’,” the crowd
shouted, using the name for ancient Nubian queens.
In
North Khartoum, many waved national flags
or carried posters of fellow demonstrators who have been killed, witnesses
said.
‘Excessive
force’
Also
on Tuesday, prominent politician Babiker Faisal was arrested while he was
attending a funeral in North Khartoum, according to
Sudan’s Unionist Alliance.
Faisal was a member of the committee tasked
with recovering properties seized during Bashir’s three-decade long rule,
before he was toppled and jailed.
Last month, several senior committee members
were arrested, including Mohamed Al-Fekki, who was also a member of Sudan’s
Sovereign Council before he was ousted in the October coup.
Since the military takeover, authorities have
accused the committee of misappropriating funds that it confiscated,
accusations its members deny.
The military power-grab derailed a transition
to full civilian rule negotiated between military and civilian leaders
following Bashir’s ouster.
On Monday, the
UN Human Rights Council said
it estimated around 1,000 people have been arrested since the coup, including
women and children.
“The Sudanese authorities must cease to use
excessive force and live ammunition against protesters,” said UN human rights
chief Michelle Bachelet, calling for the release of detainees.
Also on Monday, the ambassadors of the EU,
Canada and the US slammed “attempts to unduly limit freedom of expression” in
Sudan.
“We therefore call on the de facto Sudanese
authorities to return to commitments made to defend media freedom, and respect
the right to peaceful assembly,” the diplomats said.
On Tuesday, deputy chairman of Sudan’s Sovereign Council,
Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, met with African Union envoy Mohamed Lebatt to discuss
the crisis in the country. The AU has suspended Sudan’s membership since the
coup.
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