Nov 22, 2021: A 16 year old has died after being shot in the head by security forces in Sudan’s city of Omdurman, the Central Committee of Sudanese Doctors said in a statement.
The incident on Sunday took place during protests that continued despite the reinstatement of Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok in a political agreement with military leader Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, who promised to release all political detainees after weeks of deadly unrest triggered by a coup.
The coup triggered mass demonstrations against the military. Sunday’s killing brings to 41 the toll of people who have died in protests since the military coup on October 25, the Central Committee of Sudanese Doctors, which is aligned with the protest movement, said.
The Sudanese army on Sunday reinstated Prime Minister Abdullah Hamdouk and vowed to release all political prisoners after weeks of deadly unrest following the uprising, albeit rejecting any military agreement.
Under an agreement reached with military leader General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, Hamdouk, who was first appointed after the overthrow of dictator Omar al-Bashir in the 2019 coup, will lead the technocrats’ civilian government for a transitional period.
The deal has been opposed by pro-democracy groups who have called for full civilian rule since Bashir’s ouster and are angry at the deaths of dozens of protesters in the weeks following the October 25 uprising.
“Hamdok has sold the revolution,” protesters chanted after the deal was announced.
The Sudanese Professionals Association (SPA), a leading protest group, called it “treacherous”.
Tens of thousands of people joined scheduled rallies in the capital, Khartoum, and its twin cities of Omdurman and Bahri. Security forces fired bullets and tear gas to disperse them, witnesses told Reuters news agency.
However, the agreement made no mention of the Forces of Freedom and Change (FFC), the civilian coalition that shared power with the military before the coup.
The FFC said it did not recognise any agreement with the armed forces.
Hamdok was placed under house arrest when the military seized power, derailing a transition towards elections in 2023.
The military dissolved Hamdok’s cabinet and detained a number of civilians who held top positions under the power-sharing deal agreed after al-Bashir was toppled.
Under Sunday’s deal, a constitutional declaration struck between the military and civilians in 2019 will remain the foundation in further talks.
Western powers that had backed Sudan’s political transition condemned last month’s takeover and suspended economic assistance to Sudan, which has been trying to recover from a deep economic crisis.
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