At least a dozen people died in the country’s capital on Tuesday as tens of thousands of demonstrators demanded the regime’s ouster.
A crowd of thousands of people in Khartoum poured into the streets after authorities lifted a security crackdown that had left at least two people dead earlier in the day.
The organizers, who had earlier called for a peaceful demonstration, made a dramatic switch to violent tactics, firing gunshots and lobbing Molotov cocktails and paving stones at police in central Khartoum, witnesses said. Police responded with tear gas and live ammunition. In some instances, the water cannons smashed the windows of buses in the immediate vicinity of the demonstrators.
Activists reported that the casualties were mainly from the use of tear gas or rubber bullets.
Medics at three separate hospitals said at least six protesters had been killed and more than 130 injured.
After initially dismissing the demonstrations, the government of President Omar al-Bashir has recently softened its tone, and acknowledged the protesters’ grievances over a 2015 peace deal with rebels, which some see as an excuse for the regime to retain power. But government officials say the regime is firmly in control of security and its own security forces.
The opposition groups from which President Omar al-Bashir got his mandate in 1989 have now said they would cooperate with the government in seeking the resignation of the military and political leaders of Bashir’s ruling National Congress Party, a concession that could help the movement to gain legitimacy.
But many activists are sceptical, arguing that it will be difficult to force Bashir from power.
The protests were the most significant to break out against the regime in almost two decades.
Read the full story at the Guardian.
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