Image Credit: Ebrahim Hamid/AFP
Reports have emerged of a clash between Sudanese police and protestors blocking a bridge linking the capital Khartoum to Bahry City. Tear gas has been fired at the protesters, who briefly blocked major roads and bridges in Khartoum on Sunday, cutting off the central area from the northern neighbourhoods.
"We directed the police, in the presence of the Public Prosecution, to open the roads and take the decisive and necessary legal measures to deal with this violation by the supporters of the dissolved party, and ensure the flow of traffic in the capital," said Ayman Khalid, Khartoum State governor in a statement to news agencies.
Protestors from the Freedom and Change Alliance (FFC) have been staging an open sit-in in front of the presidential palace, demanding the dissolution of the government since October 16. Pro-military protestors have demanded that the interim government headed by Prime Minister Abdellah Hamdok be replaced. Power is shared between the military and civilian members of the council which has been in an uneasy truce since the ousting of Omar Al Bashir in 2019.
A failed coup plot last month only exacerbated tensions between military and civilian groups, who were meant to lead Sudan to democratic elections soon. Latest reports now suggest that the military has managed to stage an effective coup, capturing Hamdok. Soldiers also rounded up several members of the country's civilian leadership.