Two People Killed in Sudan Protests, Doctors Say

Sudanese protesters carry a wounded youth on a stretcher, during a demonstration against the October 25 coup, in the capital Khartoum, on January 2, 2022. (Photo by AFP)
Sudanese protesters carry a wounded youth on a stretcher, during a demonstration against the October 25 coup, in the capital Khartoum, on January 2, 2022. (Photo by AFP)
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Two People Killed in Sudan Protests, Doctors Say

Sudanese protesters carry a wounded youth on a stretcher, during a demonstration against the October 25 coup, in the capital Khartoum, on January 2, 2022. (Photo by AFP)
Sudanese protesters carry a wounded youth on a stretcher, during a demonstration against the October 25 coup, in the capital Khartoum, on January 2, 2022. (Photo by AFP)

Security forces killed two people during protests in Sudan on Sunday against military rule, a doctors' committee said.

This brought to 56 the death toll in protests since a coup on Oct. 25, the Central Committee of Sudanese Doctors said. The committee said that the first man was in his twenties and died of injuries to the head in the capital, Khartoum, while the second man died of gunshots to the chest in Omdurman.

Sunday was the 12th round of major protests since the coup, Reuters reported. Security forces fired tear gas at demonstrators in Khartoum as protesters marched towards the presidential palace, television images showed.

Internet and mobile services appeared to be disrupted in the city ahead of the protests, Reuters witnesses said.

Some people managed to post images on social media showing protests in several other cities, including Ad-Damazin, Port Sudan and Sennar.

All bridges directly connecting other towns and cities to Khartoum were also closed, one Reuters witness said.

On recent occasions when communications have been disrupted, sources at telecoms companies have told Reuters that authorities demanded providers cut their services.

The military took power in an Oct. 25 coup that ended a power-sharing deal with civilian political forces. That deal, agreed in 2019, was supposed to pave the way for a transitional government and eventually elections following the overthrow of long-time leader Omar al-Bashir.

Protests against military rule have continued even after Abdallah Hamdok was reinstated as prime minister last month, with demonstrators demanding that the military play no role in government during a transition to free elections.

Six people died and hundreds were injured in nationwide demonstrations on Thursday.



Syria’s Al-Sharaa Says No to Arms Outside State Control

Syria's new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa (C) arrives for a meeing with visiting Druze officials from Lebanon's Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) in Damascus on December 22, 2024. (Photo by AFP)
Syria's new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa (C) arrives for a meeing with visiting Druze officials from Lebanon's Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) in Damascus on December 22, 2024. (Photo by AFP)
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Syria’s Al-Sharaa Says No to Arms Outside State Control

Syria's new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa (C) arrives for a meeing with visiting Druze officials from Lebanon's Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) in Damascus on December 22, 2024. (Photo by AFP)
Syria's new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa (C) arrives for a meeing with visiting Druze officials from Lebanon's Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) in Damascus on December 22, 2024. (Photo by AFP)

Syria's de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa said his administration would announce the new structure of the defense ministry and military within days.

In a joint press conference with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan on Sunday, al-Sharaa said that his administration would not allow for arms outside the control of the state.

An official source told Reuters on Saturday that Murhaf Abu Qasra, a leading figure in the insurgency that toppled Bashar al-Assad two weeks ago, had been named as defense minister in the interim government.
Sharaa did not mention the appointment of a new defense minister on Sunday.
Sharaa discussed the form military institutions would take during a meeting with armed factions on Saturday, state news agency SANA said.
Prime Minister Mohammed al-Bashir said last week that the defense ministry would be restructured using former opposition factions and officers who defected from Assad's army.

Earlier Sunday, Lebanon’s Druze leader Walid Jumblatt held talks with al-Sharaa in Damascus.

Jumblatt expressed hope that Lebanese-Syrian relations “will return to normal.”

“Syria was a source of concern and disturbance, and its interference in Lebanese affairs was negative,” al-Sharaa said, referring to the Assad government. “Syria will no longer be a case of negative interference in Lebanon," he added.