Thousands of supporters of Sudan’s opposition Forces for Freedom and Change Movement gathered in the capital, Khartoum, and were met with tear gas.
The source of the tear gas on Friday was unknown. There were no police officers on the site, according to witnesses. When the tear gas was launched, Khalid Omar Youssef, the Minister of Cabinet Affairs before the coup and a prominent opposition member who was jailed and released after the military seized power, was on stage addressing the people.
Youssef wrote on Twitter, “They will not be able to quiet us, whether they use tear gas or firearms… The coup will be defeated, and our people will reclaim their independence.”
Other prominent opposition members were expected to speak as well. Following the tear gas firing, Sudan’s congress party broadcast live footage of seats thrown randomly.
On the other hand, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken remarked, on Twitter, “Many Sudanese people continue to demand that their basic human rights be respected, as well as to express their unwavering desire for a democratic Sudan. The United States continues to support them.”
Following a military coup in October, when the Sudanese military, led by General Abdel Fattah al Burhan, took control of the government, mass protests erupted.
Protests persisted when the military announced on November 21 that Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok, who had been under house arrest, would be reinstalled. Protesters have called the agreement between Hamdok and the military a betrayal, as Hamdok had previously been seen as a symbol of resistance to military control.
