Sudan: Tens of thousands demand civilian rule

Thousands of Sudanese march towards defence ministry in Khartoum. Protestors demand ruling military hand over power to civilians.

In Sudan, thousands of protesters marched towards defence ministry on Sunday demanding the ruling military hand over power to civilians.

Sudan’s military overthrew president Omar al-Bashir on April 11 after months of demonstrations against his rule. Opposition groups kept up those demonstrations as they pressed the military to hand over to civilians, but talks broke down after security services raided a sit-in protest outside the defence ministry on June 3.

The Forces for Freedom and Change opposition coalition called for a million people to turn out on Sunday, the 30th anniversary of the coup that brought Bashir to power in 1989, and the African Union’s deadline for the military rulers to hand over to civilians or face further sanctions.

This is the largest protest in Sudan since deadly crackdown on pro-democracy sit-in in June. Sudan’s military overthrew president Omar al-Bashir on April 11.