Sudan’s protest death toll rises to eight: Medics

The death toll from Sudan’s latest anti-coup protests at the weekend has risen to eight, medics said Monday, bringing the total number killed since last month’s military takeover to 23.

Three teenagers were among those who lost their lives during the latest mass protests on Saturday, which were met with the deadliest crackdown since the October 25 coup.

“The confirmed number of martyrs since the coup has so far reached 23 people,” said the Central Committee of Sudanese Doctors, an independent union of medics.

The union named all eight protesters killed, including a 13-year-old girl who it said had suffered “a shot to the head outside her home.”

“More than 200 wounded have been surveyed so far, including 100 injured with live bullets,” it said, adding that others were wounded with rubber bullets and tear gas.

Sudan’s top general Abdel Fattah al-Burhan on October 25 declared a state of emergency, ousted the government, and detained the civilian leadership.

The military takeover sparked a chorus of international condemnation, including punitive aid cuts, with world powers demanding a swift return to civilian rule.

Demonstrators have rallied since then despite internet outages and disruptions of communication lines, which forced activists to disseminate calls for protests via graffiti and SMS messages.

State television reported that 39 police personnel were “severely wounded” in confrontations with protesters on Saturday.

The police accused protesters of attacking police stations, saying the demonstrations “began peacefully but quickly veered off course.”

They denied using “live rounds,” saying they had used only “minimum force.”

Saturday’s demonstrations came two days after Burhan announced a new civilian-military ruling body to replace the one he ousted.

The new council includes figures from the military and from ex-rebel groups from the deposed council.

It also comprised several little-known civilians who replaced members of the Forces for Freedom and Change, the main civilian bloc which spearheaded the 2019 protests against former president Omar al-Bashir.

The FFC has also led calls for a transition to civilian rule.

The UN has criticized the military’s latest “unilateral” step, while Western countries said it “complicates efforts to put Sudan’s democratic transition back on track.”

Burhan insists the military’s move on October 25 “was not a coup” but a push to “rectify the course of the transition.”