Tens of thousands of Sudanese protest on coup anniversary, protester killed

KHARTOUM (Reuters) -Tens of thousands of Sudanese protesters on Tuesday marked the first anniversary of a coup that halted the country's transition towards democracy in the largest demonstrations since mass marches in January.

The protesters faced heavy tear gas and stun grenades as they marched towards the presidential palace in Khartoum and in Omdurman across the Nile, Reuters reporters said.

They dispersed before sundown, reaching around 1 km from the palace, following a similar pattern to the series of anti-coup protests over the past 12 months. Internet services were blocked until after 6 p.m., monitoring group Netblocks said.

One person was killed in Omdurman when they were run over by a truck belonging to security forces, the Central Committee of Sudanese Doctors, aligned with the protest movement, said, becoming the 119th person to be killed in the demonstrations.

The military takeover halted Sudan's transition to democracy following the overthrow of Omar al-Bashir in 2019, and plunged an economy already in crisis further into turmoil. Foreign donors quickly suspended funding and the currency tumbled, and the government hiked taxes spurring numerous strikes.

A year on, Sudan's military leaders have not appointed a prime minister, while Islamists loyal to Bashir who were purged from the civil service have returned. Bashir remains in jail pending trial on charges he denies related to the coup that brought him to power in 1989 and the early 2000s war in Darfur.

Tribal violence has broken out across the country, including in Blue Nile state over the past week, where up to 250 were killed, according to the United Nations.

The generals, who say they will give up power when a government is in place, are engaged in negotiations with the Forces of Freedom and Change (FFC) coalition that had been sharing power before the coup. Many protesters reject the talks.

On Tuesday, they burnt tyres on main roads, chanting "power belongs to the people, the military belongs in the barracks", Reuters reporters said.

There was no immediate response to requests for comment on the protests from government officials. Sudanese police said they had fired tear gas and water cannon at people they said were "armed, trained forces in military formations" and requested special dispensation to deal with them.

"Even though they blocked the internet and closed the bridges, we will keep putting pressure on the military until they step aside," said Salah Abdallah, a 21-year-old university student, who said he was against the deal.

Footage circulated on social media from other protests in cities including Bahri, Atbara, El Fasher, Port Sudan and Madani. Reuters could not immediately verify the images.

NEGOTIATIONS

The resistance committees that have sustained the anti-military movement with regular protests have mostly rejected negotiations with the military, criticising them as dealings of the elite, and demand that its leaders be brought to justice over the killings of protesters and other violations.

The FFC last week presented its vision for a civilian-led authority to lead a transition to an election.

A leader of the group told Reuters, on condition of anonymity, the negotiations were going well. He said differences that remained, on issues of transitional justice and security sector reform, "could be overcome".

"The biggest roadblock is the Islamists who are trying to create crises and an atmosphere that is not conductive to finding a solution," he said, particularly those who remain a significant presence in the military and security services.

Islamist leaders loyal to Bashir, who are not involved in the negotiations, have rejected the possibility of a deal with the FFC as exclusionary and say it does not represent the majority of the country.

In a statement, the United States, Britain, European Union and other Western countries said they "stand ready to help Sudan unlock its economic potential after a return to a credible civilian transition".

(Reporting by Khalid Abdelaziz and Eltayeb Siddig in Khartoum, and Nafisa Eltahir in Cairo; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne, Mike Harrison and Alison Williams)