Sudanese protest military coup, tumbling economy

SUDAN: Thousands of Sudanese protesters took to the streets Thursday denouncing last year’s military coup and worsening living conditions, an AFP correspondent said.

“The military should go back to the barracks”, protesters in the capital Khartoum chanted. “Down with the government of hunger”, they added.

Mass demonstrations have rocked Sudan since army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan led a military coup on October 25 that drew wide international condemnation.

The military power grab upended the country’s transition to civilian rule following the 2019 ouster of president Omar al-Bashir.

Sudan’s already ailing economy has taken severe blows since the coup, as Western donor countries cut crucial aid pending the restoration of transition to civilian rule.

In recent weeks, the Sudanese pound has plummeted against the dollar as prices of food, fuel and basic commodities soared.

Meanwhile, the authorities have pressed ahead with a violent crackdown on anti-coup protests that has left at least 92 people killed and hundreds wounded, according to medics. 

On Monday, United Nations special representative Volker Perthes warned that Sudan was heading towards “an economic and security collapse” unless the civilian-led transition is restored.

He said the UN, along with the African Union and the regional IGAD bloc, have agreed to join efforts to facilitate Sudanese-led political talks.

The so-called Friends of Sudan, a grouping which includes Western powers, also warned on Wednesday of “the immense economic pressures” facing the Sudanese people.

The group also said the restoration a civilian led transition “would pave the way to restore economic assistance and international debt relief.”

This week, Burhan dismissed senior members and boards of some 30 public universities in Sudan in the latest sign that he is tightening his grip on power.

The move has prompted many professors to submit collective resignations, while others launched open ended strikes.

“This decision is a blatant infringement on the independence of universities,” a union for Sudanese university and higher institution professors said in a statement. 

Sudan has yet to appoint a prime minister since the January resignation of premier Abdalla Hamdok, who was ousted in the coup before he was later reinstated.