Sudanese security forces on Monday fired tear gas canisters at thousands of people demonstrating against military rule in the streets of Khartoum and demanding the release of arrested opponents.
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This new day of demonstration, called "
parade of the love of the Nation
" by the demonstrators on the occasion of the feast of Saint Valentine, brought together under a cloud of flags and red balloons thousands of people in Khartoum and in its Khartoum-North and Omdurman suburbs.
"
We demand the release of resistance committee members and politicians who have been unjustly arrested and some of whom are facing false charges
," protester Khaled Mohamed told AFP.
Many activists belonging to "
resistance committees
" -- informal groups that played a key role in organizing protests against the coup -- have recently been arrested by the authorities.
The protesters also held up the portraits of the 79 people killed in the repression of demonstrations since the putsch of General Abdel Fattah al-Burhane, which occurred on October 25, 2021.
Tear gas shots
By firing tear gas, the security forces tried to disperse the demonstrators while some were heading towards the Parliament located in Omdurman.
Demonstrators hostile to military power also descended on Nyala, capital of the state of South Darfur (west), and Port Sudan (east).
"
The number of people detained arbitrarily and without charge has exceeded 100
," said a statement from the Sudanese Professionals Association on Monday, spearheading the popular uprising that toppled dictator Omar al-Bashir in 2019. According to the statement, the age of the detainees varies between “
16 and 60 years old
” and many of them suffer from “
health problems
”.
On Sunday, Sudanese authorities arrested Mohammed al-Fekki, a former member of the Sovereign Council.
Last week, former minister Khaled Omar Youssef and spokesman for Sudan's main civilian bloc, the Forces for Freedom and Change, Wagdi Saleh were also arrested.
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Both are part of the Commission responsible for recovering the property looted by the regime of Omar al-Bashir.
This body is particularly targeted by the new military power, accused by pro-democracy activists of seeking to reinstall the security and political apparatus of the old regime.
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