Â鶹´«Ã½

Skip to main content

Sudan forces disperse anti-coup protesters, arrest dozens

Share
KHARTOUM, Sudan -

Sudan's security forces dispersed demonstrators and rounded up more than 100 people Sunday in the capital of Khartoum, in the latest crackdown on pro-democracy protesters after last month's military coup.

The Sudanese military seized power Oct. 25, dissolving the transitional government and arresting dozens of officials and politicians. The coup has drawn international criticism and massive protests in the streets of Khartoum and elsewhere in the country.

The takeover has upended the country's fragile planned transition to democratic rule, more than two years after a popular uprising forced the removal of longtime autocrat Omar al-Bashir and his Islamist government.

Teachers and education workers protested the coup outside the Education Ministry in Khartoum's district of Bahri, according to the Sudanese Professionals' Association, which led the uprising against al-Bashir.

Security forces used tear gas to disperse the protesters and arrested at least 113 people, mostly teachers, said lawyer Moez Hadra. There were sporadic protests elsewhere in Khartoum, he said.

Local authorities announced the resumption of school classes in the capital for the first time since the coup.

Sunday was the first of two days of nationwide strikes called by the SPA, which vowed to continue protesting until a full civilian government is established to lead the transition. Several shops and businesses in Khartoum were seen open, according to a video journalist with The Associated Press.

The fresh crackdown has also come as mediation efforts between the military and civilian leaders have stumbled, according to a military official with knowledge of the ongoing efforts.

Mediators, including the United Nations envoy in Sudan, were still working to soften the stand of each side, as both are still stick to their pre-conditions before engaging in "meaningful, possibly direct talks," the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to brief the media.

The deposed Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok, who is still under house arrest in his residence in Khartoum, insists on releasing government officials and politicians detained in connection with the coup. He also wants "guarantees" that military would return to the pre-coup power-sharing arrangements, the official said.

The military, on the other hand, insists that the Oct. 25 events did not amount to a "coup," and that it stepped in to "correct the course" of the transitional period, the official said.

Part of mediation efforts, an Arab League delegation, meanwhile, met Sunday with Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan, the military leader, and Hamdok, the pan-Arab organization said.

It said the delegation, headed by Deputy Secretary General Hossam Zaki, held talks with Hamdok on the challenges of the transition and "ongoing efforts to support constructive dialogue" to re-establish a path to democracy.

The military has given mixed signals. It allowed four ministers to return to their homes under house arrest, according to Hadra, the lawyer. The four included Hamza Baloul, minister of information and culture, Hashim Hasabel-Rasoul, minister of communications, Ali Gedou, minister of trade and international cooperation, and Youssef Adam, minister of youth and sports. They were among more than 100 government officials and politicians detained following the coup.

The military also arrested three leaders from the Forces for Freedom and Change, a coalition that was born out of the 2019 protest movement, shortly after they met with U.N. officials in Khartoum. The meeting was part of UN-led mediation efforts.

------

Magdy reported from Cairo.

CTVNews.ca Top Stories

W5 INVESTIGATES

W5 INVESTIGATES Jungle crackdown: Shutting down a treacherous narco migrant pipeline

This week, Avery Haines follows migrants' harrowing journeys across the Darien Gap. Strict new rules to stem the flood of migrants through the notorious stretch of dense jungle appear to be working, but advocates fear it could backfire.

A pedestrian has died after reportedly getting struck by an OPP cruiser in Bala early Sunday morning.

British Columbia saw a rare unanimous vote in its legislature in October 2019, when members passed a law adopting the United Nations Declarations on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, setting out standards including free, prior and informed consent for actions affecting them.

Local Spotlight

A tale about a taxicab hauling gold and sinking through the ice on Larder Lake, Ont., in December 1937 has captivated a man from that town for decades.

When a group of B.C. filmmakers set out on a small fishing boat near Powell River last week, they hoped to capture some video for a documentary on humpback whales. What happened next blew their minds.

A pizza chain in Edmonton claims to have the world's largest deliverable pizza.

Sarah McLachlan is returning to her hometown of Halifax in November.

Wayne MacKay is still playing basketball twice at Mount Allison University at 87 years old.

A man from a small rural Alberta town is making music that makes people laugh.

An Indigenous artist has a buyer-beware warning ahead of Sept. 30, the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.

Police are looking to the public for help after thieves broke into a Lethbridge ice creamery, stealing from the store.

An ordinary day on the job delivering mail in East Elmwood quickly turned dramatic for Canada Post letter carrier Jared Plourde. A woman on his route was calling out in distress.