Sudanese security forces have gunned down one protester during fresh demonstrations against last year’s military coup d’état that impeded the transition of power to a civilian ruling structure in the country.
The fatality was caused in the capital Khartoum’s twin city of Omdurman on Saturday, the Central Committee of Sudan Doctors said in a statement, adding that the person had died of “a bullet to the chest.”
The latest death brings to 96 the toll from a crackdown on anti-coup protests, which have taken place regularly since the military putsch, the committee said. Hundreds have also been arrested during the same period.
Sudan has been in turmoil since the military dismissed Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok’s transitional government and declared a state of emergency. The North African country has yet to appoint a premier.
Army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, who led the coup, pledged in April to release political detainees to set the stage for talks among Sudanese factions. Civilian forces have, however, refused to enter negotiations involving the military.
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Saturday’s protests came after thousands rallied countrywide on Thursday to protest the army takeover of the country’s rule. Some 100 people were injured as the forces tried to quell the protests.
The United Nations, along with the African Union and regional bloc Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), has been pushing to facilitate Sudanese-led talks to resolve the crisis after the latest coup in the northeast African country.
The power crisis has, meanwhile, been taking a heavy toll on the economy of the country, which is already one of the world’s poorest nations.
Back in March, UN envoy Volker Perthes said Sudan was heading towards “an economic and security collapse” unless its civilian-led transition was restored.
