Sudan Coup: Security Forces Shoot Dead 15 Protesters, Dozens Injured By Bullets

JAKARTA - Security forces shot dead at least 15 people and injured dozens as thousands of Sudanese took to the streets on Wednesday, the deadliest day in a month of demonstrations against military rule, medics said.

The protesters, marching against the October 25 coup in the capital Khartoum and in the cities of Bahri and Omdurman, demanded full surrender to civilian authorities and that the leaders of the October 25 coup be brought to justice.

Security forces fired live ammunition and tear gas to prevent gatherings in the three cities, and cell phone communications were cut off, witnesses said. State television said there were injuries among protesters and police.

"Coup forces used live ammunition in various areas of the capital and there were dozens of gunshot wounds, some of them in serious condition," said the Central Committee of Sudanese Doctors, a group allied to the protest movement, citing Reuters Nov. 18.

"Deaths are concentrated in Bahri," they continued.

In response, protesters erected wide barricades, clearing streets of traffic, a Reuters witness said.

"People are just scared now," said one Omdurman protester.

Earlier, on the main street in Khartoum, protesters burned tires and chanted: "The people are stronger, and retreat is impossible."

Others carried photos of people killed in previous protests and Abdalla Hamdok, the civilian prime minister who was under house arrest during the coup, with the slogan: "Legacy comes from the street, not from cannons."

Protesters and a Reuters witness said they saw security forces chasing protesters into neighborhoods and homes to make arrests.

"We have never experienced violence in Bahri like today, even under the old regime," said one demonstrator, who said the air was filled with tear gas, and security forces used live ammunition until late Wednesday.

"Coup forces carried out excessive suppression and surrounded revolutionary marches in some areas," explained the Sudanese Professionals Association, which has helped promote the protests.

"This was preceded by a deliberate interruption of voice and internet communications services."

Mobile internet services in Sudan have been suspended since October 25, complicating a campaign of anti-military demonstrations, strikes, and civil disobedience.

The doctors' committee and other unions said in a statement that security forces had tried to attack one hospital in Omdurman and surrounded others, releasing tear gas and blocking patient access. The same was witnessed at the hospital in Bahri, said one demonstrator.

Pictures of protests in cities including Port Sudan, Kassala, Dongola, Wad Madani, and Geneina were widely shared on social media. Security forces were heavily deployed on major roads and intersections, and bridges across the Nile were closed, witnesses said.

There was no immediate comment from security forces and a police representative could not be reached for comment. Sudan's military leader General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan said peaceful protests were allowed and the military did not kill protesters.

The military coup ended the transitional partnership between the military and the civilian coalition that helped topple autocrat Omar al-Bashir in 2019.

Separately, speaking in Kenya, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said "We support the (Sudan people's) call to restore Sudan's democratic transition," saying the country was on a path to stability and that he was "deeply involved" in the matter.

To note, the deaths throughout last Wednesday brought the death toll since the military coup broke out to 39 people.

"Military commanders will be held accountable for these abuses," the UN special rapporteur on Freedom of Association and Peace Clement Voule wrote on Twitter.