Sudanese demonstrators began gathering on Tuesday ahead of protests on the first anniversary of a coup that halted a democratic transition.

Internet services were blocked, according to monitoring group Netblocks, as protests were planned in many cities and towns, including a march on the presidential palace in the capital, Khartoum.

On 25 October 2021, Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan staged a coup. 

Then-Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok refused to support the coup but instead made rallying calls for the Sudanese people to resist the military regime and was subsequently detained for standing against the military junta. The military junta also shut down the country’s internet.

Foreign donors quickly suspended relations, and the currency tumbled as the government hiked taxes spurring numerous strikes.

Sudan’s military leaders have not appointed a prime minister, while Islamists loyal to Mr Bashir, purged from the civil service, have returned.

Generals are now engaged in negotiations with the Forces of Freedom and Change (FFC) coalition that had been sharing power before the coup.

The talks are facilitated by the United Nations and African Union, as well as the “Quad” of the United States, the UK, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

The FFC earlier presented its vision for a fully civilian-led authority to lead a transition to elections.

However, the resistance committees that have sustained the anti-military protest movement with regular demonstrations have mostly rejected talks with the military.

It demanded that its leaders be brought to justice over the killings of over 100 protesters and other alleged violations. 

(Reuters/NAN)