Internet services were shut down in the Sudanese capital Khartoum on Thursday ahead of pro-democracy protests in Sudan.
As Sudanese prepare for massive protests on Thursday to demand the military hand over power to civilians, following calls for demonstrations spearheaded by the Resistance Committees, the Sudanese Association of Professionals, the Forces for Freedom and Change and other parties. On Thursday, Khartoum’s Resistance Coordinating Committee issued a statement regarding what it called a “30 million demonstration” and called the demonstration “The Dawn of Salvation” in which it warned the authorities against “using violent methods to press charges.” demonstrators,” stating that “he has tracked and documented all the schemes that the authorities seek” to implement them in order to justify the use of excessive violence,” the statement said.
The Khartoum Resistance Committees called on the demonstrators to raise flags and slogans explaining the aims and objectives of the demonstration, which are “a call for the overthrow of the military government and its allies” and emphasizing that “there is no negotiation, partnership bargaining or legitimacy, except for the revolution and its goals”, the statement says. The coordination called for “good organization of marches” and stressed that “to move in groups to the gathering places of demonstrations, and not to move during them alone.”
On the eve of the protests, Sudanese security forces killed a demonstrator during rallies organized on Wednesday evening. Sudan’s pro-democracy Central Doctors Committee said a protester died from a gunshot to the chest during rallies in northern Khartoum. The death toll in the crackdown on protests since the October 25 “coup” led by army commander Abdel Fattah al-Burhan has risen to 103, according to the committee.
Authorities have stepped up security measures in and around Khartoum despite the lifting of the state of emergency.
Protests take place almost every week in Sudan’s capital and surrounding areas. Forces for Freedom and Change, the Civic Alliance, said in its call for demonstrations on Thursday that “June 30 is our way of overthrowing the coup and cutting off any imagined alternatives,” calling on protesters to “actively participate” in the demonstration. Pro-democracy activists on social media called for protests under the hashtag “Millionaire June 30 Earthquake”.
On this day, demonstrations were held in and around Khartoum calling for mass protests. Volker Peretz, the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Sudan, on Tuesday urged authorities to avoid violence in the face of protests. “Violence against protesters is unacceptable,” he wrote in a Twitter post.
