Unknown Use Tear Gas to Break Up First Post-coup FFC Meeting

December 17, 2021 (KHARTOUM) – Unidentified people threw tear gas on the large crowd attending the first public meeting held by the Freedom and Change Alliance (FFC) after the coup d’état in Khartoum on Friday evening.

FFC leaders including Mohamed al-Faki, Yasir Arman, Khalid Omer Youssif, Sidiq al-Mahdi, among othersة organized a meeting in Shambat neighbourhood of Khartoum North. The meeting was meant to mobilize the Sudanese to confront the putschists ahead of a protest on 19 December.

However, after the second speaker, Khalid Omer Youssif, a group of people threw tear gas on the crowd to disperse the meeting which was largely followed on social media.

The organiser sought to continue the meeting but they finally decided to end it due to the huge number of tear gas launched by the assailants.

Eyewitnesses said some extremist groupuscules may be behind the attack, pointing to “The Angry” and “Kings of clashes” which are hostile to the coup leaders and the FFC alike.

However, it was unclear how they got such a large amount of tear gas. Also, the two groups dismissed the allegations they attacked the meeting.

For its part, the FFC released a statement accusing elements affiliated with putschists and allied groups of sabotaging their first mass meeting.

“We hold the putschists responsible for sabotaging the peaceful mass meeting. This attack is a new proof that the coup d brings nothing but oppression to our people,” stressed the statement.

The meeting comes within the efforts of the FFC leaders to address the Sudanese and mobilize their supporters.

On Thursday, the FFC released a 7-page document about the “FFC political vision to defeat the coup, establish complete civil authority leading the transition”.

The text included self-criticism for the FFC performance during the past two years admitting their failure to form the transitional council after the Juba Peace Agreement.

During the talks, the armed groups requested to delay the parliament until the signing of the peace agreement.

Also, they blamed themselves for appointing Abdallah Hamdok as Prime Minister without making him and his government accountable to the broad political coalition.

Khalid Omer former cabinet affairs minister in the second Hamdok government told the meeting that during the first year they had ignored what Hamdok had been doing.

Also, he blamed Hamdok for signing the 21 November political agreement with the coup leader saying he rescued the military leaders and legitimized their coup.

(ST)