Sudanese security forces have fired tear gas at an anti-coup rally at the start of a two-day civil disobedience and strike campaign against last month’s military takeover.Sudanese security forces have detained dozens of protesters because they joined a call for two days of civil disobedience and a strike campaign against last month’s military takeover.
Hundreds of anti-coup protesters rallied on Sunday in the capital, Khartoum, as well as in its twin city of Omdurman, Wad Madani to the south, and the northern city of Atbara.
Dozens of teachers carried banners reading “No, no to military rule” and called for a transition to “full civilian rule” at a rally outside the education ministry in the capital Khartoum on Sunday.
The Sudanese military, led by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, seized power on October 25 – dissolving the transitional administration and arresting dozens of government officials and politicians.
Pro-democracy protesters have taken place since the October 25 coup but have been met by a deadly crackdown. At least 14 demonstrators have been killed and about 300 wounded, according to the independent Central Committee of Sudan’s Doctors.
“We organised a silent stand against the decisions by al-Burhan outside the ministry of education,” said Mohamed al-Amin, a geography teacher, told the AFP news agency.
“Police later came and fired tear gas at us though we were simply standing on the streets and carrying banners,” he said.
There were no immediate reports of casualties but a union of Sudanese educators said “a large number of teachers were detained”.The teachers’ rally came after the military replaced heads of departments at the education ministry, as part of sweeping changes it made in multiple sectors.
“The protest rejects the return of remnants of the old regime” of deposed president Omar al-Bashir, the teachers union said in a Facebook post.
Sunday’s rally followed calls for civil disobedience made by the Sudanese Professionals Association (SPA), an umbrella of unions that were instrumental in the 2018-2019 protests which toppled the longtime strongman leader al-Bashir in April 2019.
“The Sudanese people have rejected the military coup,” the SPA said on Twitter, vowing “no negotiation, no partnership, no legitimacy”.
“We will start by barricading the main streets to prepare for the mass civil disobedience on Sunday and Monday,” it said, urging protesters to avoid confrontation with the security forces.
The SPA circulated its latest appeals via text messages to bypass internet outages since the coup.
By Sunday morning, some shops were still open but others were shuttered in Khartoum and its twin cities of Omdurman and Khartoum-North, according to witnesses.
“Movement on the streets is less than usual but there is not full blockage of streets or closure of shops” after the civil disobedience call, a witness from Omdurman who declined to give his name fearing reprisals told AFP.
Some hospitals and medical staff were working normally while others were on strike.
Al Jazeera’s Hiba Morgan, reporting from Khartoum, said many barricades erected by protesters to hinder movement in the capital had been dismantled by the security forces and by civilians.
“Protesters say that these barricades have become a symbol of their resistance to the military takeover,” she said.
The latest resistance effort came almost two weeks after al-Burhan dissolved the government as well as the ruling joint military-civilian Sovereign Council that was supposed to lead the country towards full civilian rule.
Al-Burhan also declared a state of emergency and detained Sudan’s civilian leadership.