On December 24, once again, thousands of demonstrators took to the streets of Khartoum and Sudan’s main cities to protest against the military government and against Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok, who is accused of having accepted a compromise with the leadership of the armed forces.
The demonstrations were repressed by police and army forces, who fired tear gas and rubber bullets at the protesters, injuring 178 of them according to health authorities.
Fortunately, there were no victims, but the repressive methods of the security apparatus have undergone a radical change compared to the past, when dozens of deaths were caused by the use of firearms in repressing the demonstrations.
General al-Burhan is aware of the seriousness of the situation and, while waiting for a solution to be defined, he tries to limit the potential risk connected to public demonstrations by ordering the utmost caution in the use of force, well knowing that new victims would soon bring the level of the clash to a real civil war.
For several days, as a result of the continuous worsening of the political situation, rumors have been circulating in the capital about the imminent resignation of Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok, who would have found it impossible to convince Sudanese public opinion of his attempt to mediate with the armed forces.
Officially, Hamdok’s resignation would be justified as the result of the failure of the agreement between his executive and the military authorities for the release of political prisoners, but it seems clear that his possible step back is motivated by the general loss of consensus within the Sudanese society, which now accuses him of treason.
On the contrary, the crowd in the streets is increasingly chanting hostile slogans against the Prime Minister, accusing him of having given in to a compromise with the military authorities out of self-interest, losing legitimacy in the eyes of the Sudanese society.
The forces of the political opposition thus demonstrate that they have no intention of accepting any compromise with the military and their allies, demanding the end of military rule and the exit of the armed forces from political and economic control of the country.
In the meantime, internet and cellular networks have been temporary suspended in Sudan, in order to make coordination of protest activities and press action more difficult. Nevertheless, the demonstration in the capital and those in smaller cities were held with great participation, demonstrating how the ramification of the protest organizations is now consolidated and effective.
