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102nd protester shot dead during anti-coup demonstrations in Sudan

Another protester has been shot dead by Sudan’s security forces in the middle of anti-coup demonstrations raging in parts of Khartoum and nearby Omdurman, raising the number of fatalities to 102.

The incident took place on Thursday, a week after military leaders and the former ruling civilian coalition met to find a diplomatic solution for the political deadlock gripping Sudan since last year’s army coup.

The resistance committees that have led protests maintain a hard stance against any negotiation.

Security forces have shut several key roads and bridges in downtown Khartoum in response to flaring protests by the committees.

“Our position is no negotiation, no partnership, no compromise. The only solution is for the military to leave,” said Mohamed Salah, a 23-year-old protester in downtown Khartoum.

Leading political group Forces of Freedom and Change depicted the bilateral meeting as a step to end what it called as a “fake” political process, in line with its aim of ending the military takeover.

However, General Abdelfattah al-Burhan, who led the coup last October, said in a Wednesday speech to officers that there was no room for a two-way agreement and that all parties must be included. He defended his stance and said the military remained committed to a UN- and African Union-led process.

The Sudanese military, led by al-Burhan, seized power last October, after detaining Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok and other civilian leaders and dissolving the year-old transitional government as well as the joint ruling military-civilian sovereign council formed after the 2019 ouster of longtime President Omar al-Bashir.

Back then, al-Burhan declared a state of emergency and vowed to form what he called a competent government. The move drew anger and outrage across the North African country and sparked international condemnation, including from the UN Security Council.

The country has been rocked by protests since then that have left over 100 people dead and hundreds injured. Hundreds of activists have also been arrested in the clampdown under emergency laws.

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

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