Move FM Global News

KHARTOUM, Sudan: On Saturday, thousands of pro-military protesters staged a rally in central Khartoum demanding that the government of prime minister Abdalla Hamdok be dissolved, threatening Sudan’s transition to civilian rule.

The protest, organised by a splinter faction of the Forces for Freedom and Change party, came in response to political divisions among rival factions steering the country’s transition to civilian rule, after former president Omar al-Bashir was ousted by the Army in April 2019 following weeks of mass protests.

The FFC is a civilian alliance that spearheaded the anti-Bashir protests and became a leading force in the transition.

Protesters set up tents outside the presidential palace demanding the dismissal of the government of Hamdok, a former UN economist whose IMF-backed reforms have affected many Sudanese economically, which included the slashing of fuel subsidies and a managed float of the Sudanese pound.

Inflation has also risen, reaching, 422 percent in July, before easing slightly in August and September.

The government’s supporters claimed the protest was orchestrated by sympathizers of the Bashir regime, which was dominated by Islamists and the military.

The slogans, “one army, one people” and “the army will bring us bread,” were chanted by the protesters.

“We are marching in a peaceful protest and we want a military government,” said housewife Enaam Mohamed, as reported by The Guardian.

Abdelnaby Abdelelah, a protester from the eastern state of Kassala, added that the government has ignored other states outside Khartoum.

“We will stay put where we are. We want the dissolution of this government,” the protesters chanted, outside the presidential palace.

On Friday, Hamdok warned the transition was facing its “worst and most dangerous” crisis.

In response, the mainstream faction of the FFC said, “The current crisis is not related to dissolution of the government or not. It is engineered by some parties to overthrow the revolutionary forces, paving the way for the return of remnants of the previous regime.”

Eastern Sudan has seen demonstrators blocking the key trade center of Port Sudan since September.

On 21st September, the government said it thwarted a coup attempt, which it blamed on military officers and civilians linked to Bashir’s regime.