KHARTOUM : Tens of thousands of Sudanese on Saturday staged protests in Khartoum and other cities to demand the restoration of a civilian-led government to put the country back on a path to democracy after a military coup.
People carried Sudanese flags and chanted “Military rule can’t be praised” and “This country is ours, and our government is civilian” as they marched in neighbourhoods across the capital.
Protesters also took to the streets in cities in central, eastern and northern Sudan.
In central Khartoum on Saturday there was a heavy military deployment of armed troops that included the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.
Security forces had blocked roads leading to the defence ministry complex and the airport, as well as most of the bridges connecting Khartoum with its twin cities of Omdurman and Khartoum North.
At least 11 protesters have been killed in clashes with security forces this week and opponents fear a full-blown crackdown.
In local neighbourhoods, protest groups blocked roads overnight with stones, bricks, tree branches and plastic pipes to try to keep the security forces out.
A 75-year-old man who gave his name as Moatez and who was walking the streets searching for bread said normal life had been brought to a complete halt in Khartoum. “Why did Burhan and the army put the country in this crisis? They could solve the problem without violence,” he said.
