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Videos: Four Protesters Reportedly Shot by Soldiers at Sudan’s 11th ‘March of Millions’ Against Coup

© REUTERS / RESISTANCE COMMITTEES ATBARAProtesters opposed to military rule carry banners as they march in Khartoum North, Sudan December 30, 2021 in this screengrab obtained from a social media video.
Protesters opposed to military rule carry banners as they march in Khartoum North, Sudan December 30, 2021 in this screengrab obtained from a social media video. - Sputnik International, 1920, 30.12.2021
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Israel, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are widely blamed in Sudan for the October 25 military coup, which ousted a civilian-military transition government. The Arab powers had once been allied with the former military regime in their war in Yemen, and Israel reportedly sees greater benefit from its military leaders.
Sudanese protesters took to the streets again across the country on Thursday, braving tear gas and live ammunition in their 11th massive demonstration against the military government that seized power in October.
Massive demonstrations in the capital city of Khartoum and neighboring cities of Khartoum North (Bahri) and Omdurman were met by security forces with tear gas and stun grenades as they all marched toward the presidential palace.
“Earlier in the day, the impression was that the protest was less violent and in smaller numbers than previous demonstrations,” Al Jazeera reporter Mohamed Vall reported from Khartoum.
“But as the day progressed, it became clear that because the security forces prevented the protesters in Omdurman from crossing the bridges and reaching central Khartoum, the main confrontations took place there,” he added.
According to a statement by the Central Committee of Sudan Doctors (CCSD), four protesters were killed on Thursday by the security forces, who fired live rounds at the demonstrators. Three were killed in Omdurman.
Their deaths bring the number killed since the October 25 coup to 52 and the number killed since the military junta and Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok reached a deal on November 21 to 10.
The bridges to Khartoum across the Blue and White Nile rivers were reportedly blocked with shipping containers and other barricades topped with barbed wire, although a military checkpoint reportedly kept one bridge from Omdurman open. Security forces first used the tactic during December 25 demonstrations, but protesters on that occasion rolled them over.
“As much as we sacrifice and die, we won’t be ruled by the boot,” protesters were heard chanting in Bahri as they marched toward the blocked El-Mek Nimir bridge.
"If I die, it isn't a problem. This is a matter of an entire country. The ongoing lesson is about the country, this is our Sudan," was another chant heard, according to social media reports.
Other large demonstrations were also reported in the eastern cities of Kassala and Port Sudan, in the southern cities of Wad Madani and Sennar, and Darfur’s Gineina and Zalingei.
The demonstrations have continued since October 25, when military chief General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan launched a coup that dissolved the 2-year old joint civilian-military Sovereign Council led by Hamdok. The Sovereign Council was formed in the aftermath of the December Revolution that began in late 2018 and resulted in the resignation of longtime military ruler Omar al-Bashir in April 2019.
Hamdok and al-Burhan came to an accommodation in mid-November in which the ousted leader would return to power at the head of a transitional government, with elections planned for 2023. The deal also saw the release of political prisoners by the junta.
However, the leading civilian resistance groups, the Forces of Freedom and Change (FFC) civilian coalition, which had shared power with the military, and the Sudanese Professionals Association (SPA), both rejected the agreement, saying "the pact had been struck with a gun to his head."
The demonstrations have been severely repressed, with 52 killed and thousands wounded. Protests on December 19 reportedly included numerous instances of rape by security forces, which the United Nations condemned and called for investigations.
The US, which had quietly cooperated with Bashir but supported the transition government, appealed to the military for moderation and to restore democratic freedoms. On Thursday, the US embassy in Khartoum condemned the killing of protesters.
However, the military government is supported by other states, such as Israel, which according to the daily paper Israel Hayom feels that Burhan is the leader more likely to forge stronger ties with Israel and the West. However, it was Hamdok’s government that signed the Abraham Accords in October 2020, extending political recognition to the state in violation of a deal signed by Arab League members in 1967 - ironically enough, in the Sudanese capital of Khartoum.
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