Thousands march in Sudan anti-coup protests, demand justice for killed protesters

Thousands of Sudanese protesters on Saturday took to the streets across various cities demanding the return of civilian rule and accountability for those who have killed demonstrators.

Demonstrators came out in their thousands in the capital Khartoum and the cities of Omdurman and Bahri in the protests called for by the Sudanese Resistance Committee.

The Sudanese Resistance Committee is an NGO that works on raising awareness on the protests, as well as remembering the martyrs that have been killed throughout the protests.

مليونية اليوم تمثل الوفاء للشهداء ،مليونية اليوم هي الوحده الحق ،، نحن يجمعنا العهد الذي قطعناه للشهداء،،في دم الشهيد لن نهادن لن نساوم لن نفاوض .
شهداءنا ما ماتوا من عايشين مع الثوار ✌🏾❤️‍🩹#مليونية17سبتمبر #مجزرة17نوفمبر #اضرابات_السودان
⭕️الصور من وصول مواكب أم در مدينة بحري pic.twitter.com/7Az54MG2nn

— Alfi 🌸🇸🇩 (@alfi_israa) September 17, 2022

The demonstrators closed a number of main and secondary streets in central Khartoum with concrete barriers, tree trunks and burning tires, amid intense security deployment.

The protesters, who carried national flags, chanted slogans against the military rule and for the return of democratic civilian rule.

They also held banners reading "No to military rule", "a full civil state", "the people are stronger and apostasy is impossible", "freedom, peace, and justice" and "yes to democratic civilian rule".

Security officials however, did no close the bridges lining the three cities together, for the first time since the outbreak of the demonstrations on October 25 last year, according to the Turkish Anadolu Agency.

Sudan has witnessed near-weekly waves of anti-coup demonstrations against General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan’s military rule since October last year, plunging the country into deep unrest amid a violent crackdown on protesters and a deteriorating economy.

Security forces have since carried out a relentless crackdown on the demonstrators, attacking demonstrators with rubber bullets and tear gas, resulting in the death of at least 117 peaceful protesters as of August 2022.

The military coup overturned a transitional to civilian rule that had been established following the ousting of former leader Omar al-Bashir, who ruled for three decades.

In July, Burhan vowed to step aside and make way for Sudanese factions to agree on a civilian government.

Civilian leaders, however rejected the military leader’s words, with pro-democracy protesters have held fast to their rallying cry of "no negotiation, no partnership" with the military.