KHARTOUM: Sudanese security forces shot dead a protester on Tuesday as thousands of pro-democracy activists marked the first anniversary of a coup that derailed a transition to civilian rule and sent hunger and inflation soaring.

Waving Sudanese flags, thousands of demonstrators in Khartoum and its suburbs defied security forces who have carried out deadly crackdowns on past rallies, demanding that “soldiers go back to the barracks”.

“No partnership, no negotiation with the putschists,” protesters chanted, calling out what has become a pro-democracy rallying cry.

A year ago to the day, army chief Abdel Fattah al Burhan seized power and arrested the civilian leaders with whom he had agreed to share power in 2019, when mass protests compelled the army to depose one of its own, long-time ruler Omar al Bashir.

Protesters, calling out that the “revolution continues”, have demanded the creation of “a civil democratic Sudan”.

Eyewitnesses said thousands also took to the streets in the cities of Wad Madani and El Obeid south of the capital, Gedaref and Port Sudan in the east, Atbara in the north and Nyala in the southwestern Darfur region.

In an attempt to stem protests, authorities restricted internet access across the country, online monitor NetBlocks said.

Security forces deployed

The authorities in Khartoum ordered all public institutions, schools, and businesses shut on Tuesday, as security forces blocked roads and bridges.

“We’ve been protesting for a year now, and that has enabled us to contain the coup” that gained no “international or regional recognition”, one protester in Khartoum said.

Published in Dawn, October 26th, 2022