A Protester Killed After Sudanese Security Forces Ram Vehicle into Khartoum Protest

A security vehicle attacks protesters in Khartoum on May 5, 2022 (Screenshot from a video by Al-Hadath TV)

May 5, 2022 (KHARTOUM) – A protester was killed on Thursday after Sudanese security forces in a car rammed into an anti-coup protest in Khartoum.

Despite the pledges made by the military leaders to end the violent repression of pro-democracy protesters, the security forces once again used excessive violence to disperse the anti-coup protests.

On Thursday, the police forces did not await the arrival of the protesters at the headquarters of the Sovereign Council but attacked them at, Sharoni, a site far from the presidential palace.

Al-Hadath TV channel broadcast video clips showing armed men in civilian clothes heading to the protests and holding revolvers in their hands.

Also, it showed security forces heading directly towards the demonstrators, to run over them in the Sharoni area.

The Central Committee of Sudan Doctors (CCSD) announced that a protester, Mujtaba Abdel Salam, was killed by security agents who used a vehicle to run protesters over.

The protester was hit in the head, chest and abdomen further said the independent medical group.

About 95 civilians have been killed by Sudanese security forces during the last six months, in an attempt to quell the anti-coup protests.

The CCSD further stressed that the coup forces “deliberately used lethal violence” adding that the authorities used all kinds of weapons against the peaceful revolutionaries.

The medical group said there are 24 injuries including bone fractures caused by unidentified weapons.

Some activists speculated and spoke about laser pistols used by the security forces.

The head of the Sovereignty Council previously stated that they respect the freedom of assembly and protest.

Al Burhan further said police would not intervene to disperse the demonstrators unless they reach a number of strategic sites such as the Republican Palace, the Prime Minister’s premises and Parliament.

Recently, he pledged to take confidence-building measures including an end to violence against protesters to create a suitable atmosphere for a dialogue process the tripartite mechanism plans to launch next week.

The spearhead of the anti-coup protests, the Resistance Committees, reject any dialogue with the military component or aim to maintain them in Power.

Before Thursday’s protests, the military authorities deployed security forces in the streets surrounding the presidential palace, the Council of Ministers, and the General Command of the army, and strengthened the presence of the security forces around the bridges linking the three cities of the capital Khartoum.

In Omdurman, large numbers of protesters gathered on the 40th Street, raising pictures of the protest victims, chanting slogans rejecting the military coup and demanding the army’s return to the barracks

According to eyewitnesses, the security forces fired live bullets at the demonstrators on Al-Arbaeen Street in Omdurman.

(ST)