Sudanese Police Fire Tear Gas at Protesters Demanding Transfer of Power to Civilian Gov't

KHARTOUM (Sputnik) - Police have deployed tear gas against demonstrators demanding a transfer of power from the military to the civilian government in the Sudanese capital, a Sputnik correspondent reported on Sunday.

Protesters had gathered near the presidential palace, blocking several streets in Khartoum downtown.

On Thursday, several thousand demonstrators held protests in the cities of Khartoum, Omdurman, Nyala, Ed Dueim and others, shouting the slogan "Hand over power, Burhan" addressing the head of the council, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan.

The term of the eleven-member transitional Sovereign Council of Sudan expires next month. After that, the military council is to transfer power to the civilian government.

Sudan saw a military coup in April 2019, which was prompted by popular protests amid a deep economic crisis and a steep decline in living standards. As a result, President Omar Hassan al-Bashir, who ruled for 30 years, was ousted and later imprisoned.

Later that year, the head of the transitional military council of Sudan, al-Burhan, took office as head of the country's Sovereignty Council, which promised to hand over power to the civilian authorities after a transitional period.