Demonstrators marched through the streets of Khartoum, waving anti-military slogans and chanting flags. Pro-civil protests were also held in other Sudanese cities on Thursday, Reuters news agency reported.
Military and civilian groups have been sharing power in an uneasy alliance in the east African country, dubbed the Sovereign Council, since the toppling of long-standing President Omar al-Bashir in 2019.
These protests were organized in response to another group of demonstrators who have staged a sit-in at the Presidential Palace since Saturday calling on the Sudanese military to dissolve the government and assume power.
Mohamed Al Fekki, a civil leader, told CNN that pro-civilian protesters were calling for the preservation of the democratic transition and the values of the revolution gained after the 2019 uprising.
We are all moving to support a democratic transition and to deliver an elected government to the people he said. The military headquarters were cordoned off from the protests, but little security was observed among the protesters, a CNN reporter said. Trucks carrying protesters arrived in the Freedom Square in the capital. Plumes of smoke could be seen as protesters waved tires and burned Sudanese flags, Reuters reported. Supporters of Sudan's transitional government protested as rival demonstrators kept up a sit-in demanding a return to military rule. The protests took place on the anniversary of the 1964 October Revolution and were preceded by days of smaller neighborhood protests, the news agency said. The military says it is committed to the transition to democracy and elections at the end of 2023. failed in Sudan in late September and most involved officers were arrested, further straining the shaky transition coalition. In September, military coup attempt failed in Sudan and most of the involved officers were arrested, further straining the shaky transition coalition. We encourage demonstrators to be peaceful and remind them of the strong US support for Sudan's democratic transition, the US Embassy in Khartoum tweeted Wednesday, ahead of the protests.