Huge crowd floods Khartoum

Tens of thousands of protesters converged from all directions on Sudan’s army headquarters yesterday after calls for a “million-strong” demonstration to demand the ruling military council cede power. The day after three council members resigned following talks with protest organisers, demonstrators flocked towards the central Khartoum site yesterday evening, beating drums and singing revolutionary songs, said a journalist at the scene.

“We want the military council out. We want a civilian government,” said protester Adam Ahmed, a medical student. The rally came after Sudan’s new military rulers and protest leaders agreed to set up a joint committee, to chart the way forward two weeks after the ouster of veteran president Omar al-Bashir. The Alliance for Freedom and Change, an umbrella group leading the protests, had called for a million-strong march to “continue to protect our revolution and to ensure that all our demands are achieved”. Many of those rallying chanted “Blood for blood! We will not accept compensation!”, demanding punishment for officials responsible for killings during Bashir’s iron-fisted, three-decade rule.

“All those responsible for the conflicts in Sudan should be tried and brought to justice,” said protester Ismail Jadallah. Also at the protest were dozens of judges, dressed in their robes, who had marched from the constitutional court, an AFP photographer said. “We are here to give a message that the judiciary should be independent without any political intervention,” a judge told journalists.

A photographer in downtown Khartoum said crowds of protesters had gathered earlier outside Egypt’s embassy and consulate. Several people held banners calling on Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi not to “interfere in our affairs”, after Cairo hosted a summit of African leaders who said more time was needed for a transition to civilian rule in Sudan.

Across the city, demonstrators arrived at the army headquarters from the states of Jazeera, White Nile and also from Bashir’s hometown Shendi, boosting the ranks of those already camped at the site, many of them for the past several weeks. The giant rally followed a late-night meeting between the military council and leaders of the protest movement.