Sudanese security forces throw tear gas at protesters against the coup Protest News

Sudanese security forces have arrested dozens of protesters and fired tear gas at several anti-coup protests, as protesters in several cities have joined a two-day call for civil disobedience and a strike campaign against military power last month.

Hundreds of anti-coup protesters rallied on Sunday in the capital Khartoum, as well as in its twin city of Omdurman, south of Wad Madani, and in the northern city of Atbara.

The Sudanese army, led by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, seized power on October 25 – disbanding the transitional administration and arresting dozens of government officials and politicians.

Since then, the international community has stepped up its mediation efforts to find a way out of the crisis, which threatens the already unstable Horn of Africa region.

Protests for democracy have taken place since the coup on October 25, but they have faced deadly repression. At least 14 protesters have been killed and about 300 injured, according to the Sudanese Central Medical Commission.

A teachers ’union said on Sunday security forces used tear gas in the Khartoum State Ministry of Education building to disrupt a sit-in to hand over the designated military. About 87 people were arrested, he said.

“We organized a silent stance against Al-Burhan’s decisions outside the Ministry of Education,” geography professor Mohamed al-Amin told AFP news agency.

“Later the police came and threw tear gas at us, even though we were standing on the street and carrying banners,” he said.

In the Burri district of Khartoum and along the river in the Ombada area of ​​Omdurman, police also used tear gas to break up the protests, witnesses said.

The appearance of the teachers came after the military replaced the heads of departments in the ministry of education, as part of the changes it made in various sectors.

“The protest refuses to return the remnants of the old regime,” ousted President Omar al-Bashir said, the teachers ’union said in a Facebook post.

Sunday’s rallies called for civil disobedience by the Sudanese Professional Association (SPA), an umbrella of unions that was instrumental in the 2018-2019 protests, in April 2019 ousted longtime leader Al-Bashir.

“The people of Sudan have rejected the military coup,” the SPA said on Twitter, saying “no negotiations, no cooperation, no legitimacy” and urging protesters to avoid confrontation with security forces.

SPA spread its latest appeals via text messages to avoid internet disruptions after the coup.

Since Saturday night, protesters have seen large bricks and slabs piled up to block streets in Khartoum and surrounding cities.

As of Sunday morning, some shops were still open, but others were closed in Khartoum and its twin cities of Omdurman and northern Khartoum, according to witnesses.

Some hospital and medical staff were working normally and others were on strike.

Hiba Morgan in Al Jazeera, from Khartoum, reported that many of the barricades set up by protesters to obstruct the movement in the capital have been dismantled by security forces and civilians.

“Demonstrators say these barricades have become a symbol of resistance against military takeover,” he said.

The last resistance effort was that al-Burhan disbanded the government and dissolved the joint sovereign military and civilian council that was to bring the country into full civilian rule, and it took almost two weeks.

Al-Burhan also claimed a state of emergency and arrested Sudan’s civilian leadership.

Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdo was arrested shortly afterwards but later placed under effective house arrest.

Al-Burhan met with a delegation from the Arab League, state television reported on Sunday, without giving further details.

The Arab League has called on the Khartoum to send a high-level delegation to Khartoum on Saturday after the army asked them to maintain a democratic transition.

On Thursday, the military released four civilian members of his government, but other senior people remain in custody.

On the same day, security forces arrested other civilian leaders near a United Nations building in Khartoum after a meeting with UN Special Representative Volker Perthes Sudan.

“We call on military leaders to stop arresting politicians and activists and to stop human rights violations,” Perthes said Friday.

The military acquisition sparked international condemnation, including cuts to aid sanctions and demands for a speedy return to civilian rule.

Al-Burhan stressed that it was “not a coup,” but a movement to “correct the trajectory of the transition”.

Morgan of Al Jazeera said the protesters now demand the complete dissolution of the power-sharing agreement signed between the army and civilian leaders in 2019.

“They say they want to see the army return to its barracks and have no role in governing the country and its politics,” he said.

“Efforts to bridge the gap between Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdo and the civilian coalition on the one hand and the army on the other have not yet yielded results,” he added.

Earlier this week, Sudanese Ambassador Nureldin Satti told Al Jazeera’s UpFront program that the coup “cannot continue with the mobilization we have seen and will see in the coming days and weeks.”