Seven Killed, 140 Injured In Protests Against Sudan Military Coup

Sudan’s military took power from a transitional government on Monday and a health ministry official has said seven people were killed by gunfire and 140 hurt in fights between soldiers and street protesters.

The leader of the coup, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, dissolved the military-civilian Sovereign Council that had been organized to protect the country to democracy after overthrowing the ancient autocrat Omar al-Bashir in an uprising two years ago.

Burhan commenced a state of emergency, revealing that the military should protect safety and security. He also promised to organize elections in July 2023 and hand over to a democratically elected civilian government then.

According to him, “What the country is going through now is a real threat and danger to the dreams of the youth and the hopes of the nation”.

The U.N. Security Council was supposed to discuss Sudan behind closed doors on Tuesday, diplomats disclosed.

White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre stated: “We reject the actions by the military and call for the immediate release of the prime minister and others who have been placed under house arrest.”

Youths not in support of the coup flooded the streets and clashed with troops.

The main opposition coalition, Forces of Freedom and Change, which fought for Bashir’s removal and spoke to the military-civilian council, posted on Twitter that it was calling for peaceful actions in the streets to overthrow the military takeover, which include protests, the blocking of streets and civil disobedience.

Hamdok, an economist and former senior U.N. official, was arrested and taken to an unnamed area after he refused to issue a statement in support of the takeover, the information ministry said.

The ministry encouraged resistance and said tens of thousands of people not in support of the takeover had taken to the streets and had faced gunfire near the military headquarters in Khartoum. Central bank employees also announced a strike to take down the coup.

The U.S. State Department mentioned that Washington had nothing to share concerning Hamdok’s whereabouts and condition. A department spokesman said it was pausing $700 million in economic support for Sudan.

In Khartoum’s twin city Omdurman, protesters flooded streets and chanted in support of civilian rule.