Sudanese security forces moved against a protest sit-in camp in the Sudanese capital of Khartoum on Monday, only three days after Lieutenant General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the head of Sudan’s Transitional Military Council (TMC) attended a meeting of Arab states in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, and appeared alongside Saudi Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman.
According to the latest figures released by the Central Committee of Sudanese Doctors, at least 9 Sudanese protesters have lost their lives so far after the security forces used live ammunition to disperse their sit-in.
Since the removal of Omar al-Bashir as the president of Sudan following months of peaceful protests, Sudan has witnessed political turmoil as the fight for a civilian rule continues. The Saudi and Emirati-backed Transitional Military Council (TMC), led by Lieutenant General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan refuses to give in to the protesters' demand to hand over power.
Lebanese Al-Mayadeen TV cited sources in Sudan as saying that "Saudi and Emirati backers wanted TMC to remain under their influence," and that the TMC moved against the sit-in camp after it failed to disappoint the protesters by refusing to give in to their demands.
According to Qatari Al-Jazeera, Sudan's opposition and protest group alliance said on Monday it was halting all contact and negotiations with the country's military council after security forces launched a deadly raid on a protest sit-in.
The Declaration of Freedom and Change Forces (DFCF) had been in talks with the TMC that took over from al-Bashir in April, but negotiations have stalled in recent weeks.
Dr. Taj al-sser Osman, a Sudanese intellectual, has referred to the role that the recent trip of the head of the TMC to Saudi Arabia played in today’s crackdown, tweeting that “the Saudi and Emirati support and money was behind the TMC move against Khartoum sit-in protests today.”
KI/FNA13980313001013