Sudan security forces kill four protesters as thousands rally

 

Sudanese security forces shot and killed four protesters on Thursday during demonstrations by tens of thousands who defied a security lockdown and severed communications to rally against military rule, medics said.

For more than two months, pro-democracy activists have kept up a campaign of street demonstrations against a military takeover in October.

A crackdown on the protests has now seen at least 52 people killed, according to the independent Sudan Doctors Committee, which is part of the pro-democracy movement.

On Thursday, security forces fired live bullets, killing four protesters in Omdurman, the twin city of the capital, Khartoum, and wounded dozens, the committee said.

“We call on doctors to come to the Arbain hospital in Omdurman because the putschists are using live rounds against protesters and preventing ambulances from reaching them,” it added.

Its plea was posted on social media accounts of Sudanese living abroad as authorities had severed domestic and international phone lines.

Web monitoring group NetBlocks said mobile internet services were also cut.

Communications were restored by evening when the demonstrators had dispersed.

The U.S. Embassy, which had called for restraint in the use of force, condemned the killing of protesters and also deplored “the violent attacks by Sudan’s security services on media outlets and journalists.”

United Nations Special Representative Volker Perthes called for “credible investigations into these violations.”

Despite the risks, protesters chanted “no to military rule” during rallies in several parts of Sudan demanding a transition to a civilian government.