KHARTOUM, January 6 (Reuters) – Security forces shot dead three protesters and fired tear gas in Sudan on Thursday as crowds thronged the capital Khartoum and other towns at other anti-military rallies, said doctors and Reuters witnesses.

At least 60 people have died and many more have been injured in the crackdown on protests since the October coup that halted efforts to bring about democratic change, according to a group of doctors aligned with the movement. of protest.

Those killed on Thursday were all protesters and died from gunfire by security personnel during rallies in the towns of Omdurman and Bahri, across the Nile from Khartoum, the committee said. Sudanese medical center.

Protesters attempted to go to the capital’s presidential palace again to keep pressure on the military, whose coup ended a power-sharing deal negotiated after the overthrow of Omar al-Bashir in 2019.

The military justified the coup as a necessary “correction” to stabilize the transition. They said peaceful protests were allowed and those responsible for the victims would be held to account.

In Omdurman, where several protesters were killed last week, a protester said security forces fired live ammunition and tear gas and run over several protesters with armored vehicles.

“There was incredible violence today, the situation in Omdurman has become very difficult. Our friends are dead, this situation cannot please God,” he said, asking not to be named because some protesters have been arrested in recent days.

The Khartoum state health ministry said security forces raided Arbaeen hospital in Omdurman, attacking medical staff and injuring protesters, and said forces besieged the hospital. University of Khartoum and fired tear gas inside.

In Bahri, a witness saw forces using heavy tear gas and stun grenades, with some cartridges landing on houses and a school as protesters were prevented from reaching the Khartoum Bridge.

In a statement, Sudanese police said: “The protests have witnessed a deviation from appeasement and cases of aggression and violence by some protesters towards the forces present,” quoting a certain number of injured among police and armed forces.

The statement also said that three people were arrested for the murder of two citizens in Omdurman and that 60 suspects were arrested in total.

As in previous protests, mobile phone and internet services were largely cut off late in the morning, said reporters from Reuters and Netblocks, an internet blockade observatory.

Most of the bridges connecting Khartoum to Bahri and Omdurman have been closed. Images of protests in other towns, including Gadarif, Kosti and Madani, have been posted on social media.

RETENTION OF THE PALACE

The Forces for Freedom and Change coalition, which shared power with the military before the coup, called on the UN Security Council to investigate what it described as killings intentional and raids on hospitals.

In Khartoum, demonstrators tried to reach the presidential palace but security forces advanced towards them, firing frequent bursts of tear gas, according to a Reuters witness.

Some protesters wore gas masks, while many wore medical masks and other face coverings and several brought helmets and gloves in order to drop tear gas canisters.

Protesters barricaded the roads with stones, bricks and branches as they marched towards downtown Khartoum, and security forces approached from several sides.

Motorcycles and rickshaws swept away injured and unconscious protesters.

The protests, the first of several series of protests slated for this month, come four days after Abdalla Hamdok resigned as prime minister. Read more

Hamdok became prime minister in 2019 and oversaw important economic reforms before being impeached in the coup and returning in an unsuccessful attempt to salvage the power-sharing deal.

“We came out today to get these people out. We don’t want them to rule our country,” Mazin, a protester living in Khartoum, said, referring to the army.

Hamdok’s return and resignation did not matter, he said, adding: “We will continue anyway.”

Reporting by Nafisa Eltahir, Yasmin Hussein and Aidan Lewis Editing by Frances Kerry and Alistair Bell

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