Security troops kill four protesters in Sudan anti-military rallies

Latest demonstrations increase pressure on military to step aside after harsh criticism by western powers

• 

  Demonstrators gather in Sudan's capital Khartoum to protest against the October 2021 military takeover. AP

• 

  These latest protests follow the resignation of civilian prime minister Abdalla Hamdok this week, leaving the military fully in charge of the country. AFP

• 

  The military takeover led by Gen Abdel Fattah Al Burhan derailed Sudan's democratic transition and was widely criticised by the international community. AFP

• 

  Sudanese took to the streets in the capital, Khartoum, and other cities in anti-coup protests as the country plunged further into turmoil. AP Photo

• 

  Security forces used tear gas to disperse thousands of pro-democracy protesters. AP

• 

  About 60 people have been killed and hundreds injured during the series of protests since last October's military takeover. AFP

• 

  Protesters walk past burning tyres in the capital Khartoum. AFP

• 

  Protesters fly the Sudanese flag as they take to the streets of Khartoum. AFP

• 

  Protesters rally against military rule in Sudan. AFP

Security forces shot dead four protesters on Thursday as tens of thousands of people rallied in Sudan's capital Khartoum and elsewhere against military rule, a doctors' union said.

The Central Committee of Sudanese Doctors said three of the protesters killed were in Khartoum's twin city of Omdurman. The fourth was killed in the capital's East Nile district.

With the latest fatalities, the number of people killed during protests since the military seized power on October 25 and upended Sudan's democratic transition rose to at least 61.

Authorities said 50 policemen and four army soldiers were injured in Thursday's protests. A total of 60 protesters were arrested, they added.

The doctors' committee is aligned with the pro-democracy movement but has established a reputation for accuracy and neutrality since it began to count and verify victims of political violence in 2018.

On Wednesday US Secretary of State Antony Blinken appealed on Twitter for Sudanese security forces to “cease using lethal force against demonstrators and commit to an independent investigation".

Mr Blinken's appeal echoes similar ones repeatedly made by western leaders over the past two months, but they have gone unheeded.

Tear gas was also used against protesters in Khartoum and the twin cities of Omdurman and Bahri. There were similar protests in the cities of Port Sudan on the Red Sea, and Atbara and Wad Medani, north and south of the capital.

Videos online also showed armoured army vehicles chasing protesters in the capital, apparently trying to run them over on streets strewn with debris. Protesters pelted the vehicles with rocks as they sped away.

One gruesome video purportedly showed a man lying on the ground, his body soaked in blood and his head smashed open by what seemed to be a live round.

Panicking and grief-stricken protesters carried the body away.

Army chief Gen Abdel Fattah Al Burhan seized power on October 25, derailing Sudan's democratic transition nearly three years after dictator Omar Al Bashir was removed by the military after a popular uprising against his 29-year rule.

The coup drew strong international condemnation and led to the suspension of vital aid worth hundreds of millions of dollars by major donors including the US and World Bank. The African Union suspended Sudan’s membership.

At home, the coup sparked a series of major protest rallies that were met with a violent response by security forces routinely using live rounds, rubber bullets, stun grenades and tear gas.

Sudanese women protest against the military in Khartoum on January 6. AFP

“Our marches will continue until we restore our revolution and our civilian government,” said protester Mojataba Hussein, 23, in Khartoum.

Another demonstrator, Samar Al Tayeb, 22, vowed not to stop protesting “until we get our country back".

In the hours before Thursday’s protests, authorities sealed off Nile bridges linking the greater Khartoum area and cut off internet and telephone services, an action they have taken at every protest to deny organisers the means to mobilise and co-ordinate.

Authorities also closed roads leading to the Nile-side Republican Palace and the army headquarters, both in central Khartoum.

Thousands of troops, police and fighters from a government-sanctioned militia have fanned out across the capital and its twin cities, manning checkpoints and concrete barriers blocking roads.

But the tight security measures did not stop the protesters from taking to the streets.

They beat drums, chanted slogans demanding the military quit politics and lifted posters bearing images of killed protesters. Many struggled to breathe because of the heavy tear gas, witnesses said.

The protesters set tyres ablaze and lobbed tear gas canisters back at the security troops.

Images shared online showed men, women and children of all ages taking part in Thursday's rallies as clouds of black smoke formed above.

Thursday’s protests come at a time when pressure is mounting on Gen Al Burhan and his associates to step down or come up with a plan that is acceptable to the pro-democracy movement to end the political crisis.

Sudanese protesters rallying against the military walk past tyres set ablaze by fellow demonstrators in the capital Khartoum. AFP

The latter option, however, has become increasingly unlikely, as Gen Al Burhan appears convinced that he and the other generals can ride out the mass protests.

The pro-democracy movement also appears to be in no mood for compromise, insisting that the military step down and vowing to hold him accountable for the deaths of protesters.

In an attempt to appease the protesters, Gen Al Burhan on November 21 reinstated Abdalla Hamdok, the civilian prime minister he dismissed along with his government when he seized power in October.

But Mr Hamdok resigned on Sunday, claiming widening differences with the military. His resignation has deepened the crisis and led to increased pressure by western powers on Gen Al Burhan and his associates.

On Tuesday, the US, EU, Britain and Norway warned the military against naming a successor to Mr Hamdok, saying they would “not support a prime minister or government appointed without the involvement of a broad range of civilian stakeholders".

Additional reporting by AFP