Protesters Block Sudanese Capital Roads

Protesters erecting a barricade in a Khartoum street on March 22, 2022: Anadolu photo

March 22, 2022 (KHARTOUM)- Protesters on Tuesday blocked dozens of key roads and some bridges in the Sudanese capital Khartoum, in a new escalation against the ruling military authority.

Central Khartoum was paralysed, shops were closed, many vital streets appeared immobile and a large number of civil servants and employees could not reach their offices due to the protest movement.

The anti-coup protesters erected barricades and burned tires in the capital’s streets following calls by the Resistance Committee to close the roads on Tuesday and Wednesday.

The pro-democracy groups who protest against the military rule since the first day of the coup seek opted for this approach to diversify their actions.

Also, the blockade aims to test their capacity to prepare the country for civilian disobedience to bring the military junta to hand over power to civilians.

The protest groups said they would not impede the circulation

The Resistance Committees said in a statement on Monday that they do not block the movement of ambulances and patients to heading to hospitals or health dispensaries.

Calls to erect barricades found large support from the residents of the three cities of the capital.

However, the police forces removed the barricades from Siteen Street in Khartoum but the protesters successfully closed Alarbaeen Street, Omdurman main street leading to Khartoum city.

On the other bank of the White Nile river, the Central Reserve Police chased dozens of demonstrators in the Al-Muqran neighbourhood as they placed concrete barriers and burned tires to close the White Nile Bridge linking Khartoum and Omdurman.

A member of the Omdurman Resistance Committees, Tayfur Alsanosi, told Sudan Tribune that they have achieved great success and found wide support from the people in Omdurman.

The protesters in different neighbourhoods in Khartoum North (Bahri) and Khartoum cities also successfully closed the streets.

For their part, the armed police and security forces were deployed in Khartoum’s main roads leading to the army General Command, the Republican Palace and the Council of Ministers.

The youth groups that spearhead the anti-coup protest movement reject negotiations with the coup leaders and call to topple the military regime.

Recently they adopted a charter aiming to coordinate their actions and to establish a political platform for the post-military period towards the restoration of civilian rule in the country.

(ST)