Sudan protester killed as thousands march against coup


KHARTOUM — Sudanese security forces shot dead a protester in the southeastern city of Wad Madani on Thursday during anti-coup rallies held across the African country, medics said.

Angry demonstrators took to the streets of Khartoum and several other cities demanding a return to civilian rule after the military grabbed power last year.

Waving the Sudanese flag, the protesters chanted "No, no to military rule" and "Go back to the barracks" at the biggest turnout in Khartoum.

Anti-coup demonstrators have remained undeterred despite a crackdown by the security forces that has now claimed the lives of 90 people.

The latest fatality was a 28-year-old man who was hit at close range by a blast of birdshot fired by security forces in Wad Madani, about 160 kilometres from the capital, medics said.

Military chief Abdel Fattah Al Burhan seized power in Sudan on October 25, triggering international condemnation and punitive measures.

The coup upended a transition to civilian rule after the 2019 ouster of autocratic president Omar Al Bashir, following mass protests against his iron-fisted three decades in power.

Sudan, one of the world's poorest countries, has been reeling from a plunging economy due to decades of international isolation and mismanagement under Bashir.

Since the coup, the northeast African country has suffered from international aid cuts and economic turmoil.

Its currency, the pound, has plummeted in value and prices of food and fuel have skyrocketed.

"This is the third time for me to take to the streets after economic conditions worsened," Iman Babiker said at a protest in North Khartoum.

"It has become unbearable."

Demonstrators have over the past two days set up barricades of bricks, tree branches and burning car tyres on the main streets of the capital.

Sudan has yet to appoint a prime minister since the January resignation of premier Abdalla Hamdok, who remained under house arrest for weeks before he was reinstated.

In an interview published on Wednesday in Saudi newspaper Asharq Al Awsat, Burhan said he hoped a new prime minister would be nominated after the agreement of political factions in Sudan.