Marches in Khartoum and other Sudanese cities to support the AFC

Marches were organised in Khartoum and several other cities on Thursday, calling for the handover of power to the people. The marches were scheduled by the Alliance for Freedom and Change (AFC) to keep pressure on the ruling Transitional Military Council.

Protestors in Port Sudan in eastern Sudan faced a heavy military deployment of members of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, security agents, and riot police on the main roads, markets and bridges.

An activist told Radio Dabanga from the Red Sea capital that the militiamen are cracking down on citizens, intimidating them, shaving of their hair, and physically assaulting them. Residents demanded that the military be withdrawn from the city.

El Gedaref

Demonstrations took place in El Gedaref and Sennar where thousands of secondary school students took to the streets calling for a civilian government and demanding postponing the start of the new school year.

They carried slogans calling on the military junta to hand over power and investigate the killing of protestors. They also chanted slogans, insisting that the protesters' demands were met.

Wad Madani

On Thursday, Wad Madani, capital of El Gezira, saw a number of protest rallies demanding civilian authority and an investigation into the killings.

An activist from Wad Madani told Radio Dabanga that three rallies were launched from the market. Secondary school students, teachers and people from various sectors of society participated.

He reported that one of the rallies went to the El Gezira Ministry of Education. The protestors handed over a memorandum calling for the transfer of power to civilians and the rehabilitation of curricula and teachers.

Basic school students in Marinjan in El Gezira also demanded that drinking water would be provided in schools and residential areas.

Nyala

In Khartoum and Nyala, capital of South Darfur, teachers' committees organised protest vigils on Thursday to demand the release of detainees, the dissolution of the old trade unions that are closely connected to the Al Bashir-regime, the payment of financial arrears, and the provision of an appropriate educational environment.

Kassala

In Kassala in eastern Sudan, groups of professionals organised a protest in front of the hospital, denouncing the massacres and demanding  a civilian authority. Dr Mohamed Esmat, a leading member of the AFC addressed the vigil.

The AFC in Kassala also organised an political symposium addressed by Dr Esmat on Wednesday evening.

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