Sudan: Demonstrations demanding change and justice

On Saturday, thousands of protesters organized a march on Sudanese cities appealing for change, after two years since the start of a demonstration movement that led to the overthrowing of dictator Omar al-Bashir.

In the capital, Khartoum’s southern al-Sahafa district, there were black plumes of smoke from burning tires while protesters were marching to the presidential palace gates saying justice.

Protesters, many of them are young, disappointed by what they see as a lack of change in the presence of a terrible economic crisis, waved the national flag or carried pictures of martyrs killed during the past.

21-year-old protester Nada Nasereldine stated: Today we have sent a very clear message to the civilian and military government, adding: We have the power of the streets, it is our weapon and we will use it if our demands are not met.

It was reported that there were protests in towns surrounding the capital, including Madani and Atbara, as well as in the east, in Port Sudan on the Red Sea, and Kassala. According to estimates by AFP correspondents and other journalists, numbers taking part estimated at many thousand people.

Some protesters said revolution slogans, including the people, want the fall of the regime, it is actually a rallying cry during Arab Spring demonstrations in the region a decade ago.

Indeed, Sudan’s youth-led movement began protesting on December 19, 2018, calling for more freedoms and an end to Sudan’s international isolation. In April this year, Bashir was finally overthrown by the army, and the new authorities have since put him on trial because of the Islamist-backed coup that reached him to power for the first time in 1989.

However, those responsible for the repression during the revolution have still not been presented to justice.