Sudanese security forces killed at least 14 anti-coup protestors and injured hundreds more in Khartoum on Wednesday. It is the highest number of casualties reported since the military took control in late October.
The deaths brought the total number of people killed in protests since the military took control to 38, according to a pro-democracy doctors’ organisation. Dozens of people were also injured.
AFP correspondents said demonstrators came to the streets throughout the city even though the military had blocked telephone and internet connections since it seized control.
Demonstrators yelled, “The people choose civilian rule,” while chanting slogans against Sudan’s ruler, top general Abdel Fattah al-Burhan.
Before things got violent, the protestors — predominantly young men and women — applauded and ululated. Witnesses said when fights erupted, security officers shot tear gas, wounding many more protestors.
Police have denied firing live gunfire, and state television announced that a probe into the fatalities had been launched.
The doctors’ union stated that most of the victims had bullet wounds to the “head, neck, or torso”. The protestors, however, remained unfazed and continued to march behind homemade barriers.
On October 25, Sudan’s current de facto head of state and coup leader General Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan declared a state of emergency, ousted the government, and imprisoned civilian leaders, causing a worldwide outcry.
The general maintains that the action “was not a coup”.
