5 killed during mass demonstrations in Sudan

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Khartoum, Nov 14 (IANS) At least five protesters were killed during mass demonstrations in the Sudanese capital of Khartoum and other cities.

The cities on Saturday witnessed huge demonstrations in protests against measures recently adopted by the Sudanese army commander, including dissolving the government and appointing a new sovereign council, reports xinhua news agency.

The protesters gathered in the cities of Khartoum, Bahri and Omdurman.

Once again, the protesters failed to reach central Khartoum, which includes vital buildings such as the government headquarters, the Republican Palace and the Army Command, due to closure of the bridges linking the three cities and the intensive security presence on main roads.

The protesters raised banners rejecting the measures taken by the General Commander of the Sudanese Armed Forces Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, calling for civilian rule, and demanding the restoration of the government of Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok.

"Five protesters were killed due to use of live ammunition and suffocation with tear gas," the health ministry in the dissolved Sudanese government said in a statement.

The Sudanese police, for its part, said in a statement on Saturday that the demonstrations were of a peaceful nature, but quickly "deviated from their course."

It said that 39 policemen were seriously injured during the confrontations with the protesters.

The Sudanese police further said many of its departments were attacked by protesters, stressing that the police forces did not shoot gunfire while dealing with the protesters, and that they use the minimum force.

Sudan has been suffering from a political crisis after Al-Burhan declared a state of emergency on October 25 and dissolved the sovereign council and government.

--IANS

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