The Sudanese police used heavy tear gas to disperse the demonstrations that took place Thursday to protest the dismissal of a number of army officers who sided with wealth in the last days of the rule of the ousted President Omar al-Bashir.
Among the dismissed officers are Army Inspector General Lt. Gen. Abdullah Al-Matari and Muhammad Siddiq “who responded to the police to prevent them from breaking up a sit-in in front of the General Command.”
Witnesses reported that Sudanese security forces used tear gas and sticks to disperse the thousands of protesters who had gathered to demand the return of army officers to their jobs after their dismissal last week.
The protesters say that these officers were sacked on the grounds of "their refusal to respond to demonstrations against former President Omar al-Bashir."
The police intervention resulted in a number of casualties, while the demonstrators demanded that the army be restructured and the police chief and the interior minister be sacked.
The Committee of "Doctors of Sudan" stated that at least 17 people were injured in the clashes, explaining that many of them were injured by gas bombs, and that one of the wounded received a live bullet, while another was wounded with a rubber bullet.
Witnesses said they saw the security forces chase others and beat them with sticks.
The demonstrations tended towards the Republican Palace and the Presidency of the Council of Ministers. The demonstrators chanted against the President of the Sovereign Council, General Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, and accused him of working to liquidate the Sudanese revolution.
Al-Burhan issued decisions to fire about twenty officers, while others were promoted.
The Sudanese army spokesperson's office said that the decisions were made as usual at the beginning of each new year, and according to the army's regulations.
Excessive violence
The Sudanese Professionals Caucus condemned what it described as the excessive use of violence and repression against the peaceful million processions demanding the restructuring of the armed forces.
In a statement, the gathering described what happened on Thursday as a major fall that reveals that "the police leaders are operating with the same mentality of what they called the defunct regime."
The statement called on Prime Minister Abdullah Hamduk to dismiss both the Minister of Interior and the Director General of the police, open an official investigation and take the necessary legal measures, indicating that the revolutionaries uprooted the Bashir regime and can uproot the transitional government.
The demonstrations called for restructuring the military establishment, removing the elements of the previous regime from its ranks, dismantling militias, building a national national army, and returning all officers excluded from military service.
The security services closed the streets leading to the headquarters of the General Command of the Army, the presidential palace and the Council of Ministers in the capital.
Later, the Sudanese government condemned the excessive use of force against protesters who protested in front of the Republican Palace in Khartoum on Thursday.
In a statement read by Minister of Information Faisal Muhammad Salih, the government pledged to investigate the incidents that had occurred and to hold the perpetrators of the violence to account. It also affirmed its respect for the right to peaceful expression of opinion.
It is noteworthy that Sudan began on August 21 last transitional period that will last for 39 months, ending with elections. During this period, the Military Council and the Alliance of Freedom and Change Forces will share power.