Demos commemorate start of Khartoum sit-in two years ago

Demonstrations were staged in Khartoum, Atbara, Wad Madani, Port Sudan, Kassala, and El Gedaref yesterday, marking the second anniversary of the start of the sit-in in front of the army command in Khartoum on April 6, 2019.

The demonstrators demanded that the course of the revolution be corrected and that those accused of killing protestors during the December Revolution be brought to justice.

Demonstrations started in Sudan in December 2018. They led to the fall of dictator Al Bashir in April 2019 and the formation of a civilian government in September 2019.

In Atbara, River Nile state, activists started a march that went to the office of the Forces for Freedom and Change (FFC) and then moved on to the court. They demanded retribution for the martyrs and a reform of the FFC.

In Port Sudan, a small demonstration demanded retribution for the protestors killed during the revolution and a correction of the course of the revolution. Other protesters entered the compound of the government offices to protest the dismissal of workers by the Empowerment Elimination, Anti-Corruption, and Funds Recovery Committee. They also called for a radical solution to the water crisis, the dismissal of the wali (governor), and a restructuring of the FFC.

Security forces broke up the demonstration organised by Khartoum activists yesterday to commemorate the second anniversary of the start of the sit-in in front of the army command. Tear gas was used to disperse the demonstrators in front of the Republican Palace. Activists said that one of the demonstrators has been injured by a tear gas canister. Fighting broke out between the police and demonstrators who blocked several main roads.

Several women's groups announced that a feminist march will be organised tomorrow. The demonstrators will demand the abolition of discrimination on the basis of gender, as agreed upon in the Constitutional Document. The march will call for safety for women and girls in both public and private places, the formation of courts specialised in gender-based violence, and a reform of the judiciary system. The women’s groups expressed their commitment “to fight ideas that target women and girls”.