The head of the Sovereign Council in Sudan, Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, affirmed his commitment to organizing free and fair elections on their scheduled date. .

In a speech he delivered on Friday evening, on the occasion of the 66th anniversary of Sudan’s independence, the head of the Sovereign Council, the commander of the army, Abdel-Fattah Al-Burhan, said, “We affirm the building of institutions of transitional governance and the organization of free, fair and transparent elections on time.

Al-Burhan stressed that the only way to govern is a popular mandate through elections.

He added that conflict, monopolization of power, and loss of life necessitate that we arbitrate the voice of reason.

For its part, the Sudan Doctors Committee said, on Friday, that the number of victims of the protests calling for civilian rule in the country has risen to 53, since last October 25.

It was announced that 5 protesters were killed, and about 300 were injured, in addition to dozens of Sudanese security forces during Thursday's protests.

The Sudanese Professionals Association described what happened as the massacre and pledged to continue the protest movements, and its adherence to transferring power to what it called the forces of the revolution, and opening the way for a civil and democratic Sudan, as he put it.

Witnesses told Reuters that security forces fired tear gas and stun grenades as protesters in Khartoum and the neighboring cities of Omdurman and Bahri headed towards the presidential palace.

And the police had said in a statement, earlier, that 4 people were killed in Omdurman, and 297 demonstrators and 49 members of the police force were injured in nationwide demonstrations against the military rule, Thursday, in which tens of thousands participated.


The departure of the military

Sudanese citizens marched after Friday prayers in the city of Omdurman - the stronghold of the Sudanese Umma Party supporters - to condemn the killing of demonstrators in Thursday's protests.

The demonstrators demanded that those involved in the events be held accountable, and that the military be removed from power.

Sudanese sources said that the security forces extended the closure of bridges in the capital, with the exception of Halfaya and Soba bridges.

According to those sources, the extension of this closure is due to the security authorities' concerns about the outbreak of violence, and the organization of new demonstrations coinciding with the end of the year.

In the same context, the Undersecretary of the Sudanese Ministry of Health, Haitham Mohamed Ibrahim, submitted his resignation in protest against the storming of hospitals, the firing of tear gas at them, and the beating of medical personnel by the security forces during the demonstrations.

The resigned Undersecretary of the Ministry of Health said, in a statement, that he finds himself obliged to submit his resignation after his appointment by Prime Minister Abdullah Hamdok in early December.

The Sudanese official said that the increase in political tension affected the ministry and its partners and led to the suspension of funding for the programs without any glimmer of hope for a solution, as he put it.

He pointed to the delay in forming the Cabinet, which caused the lack of support for the Ministry of Health's issues.

The position of the undersecretary is considered the highest in the ministry after the delay in forming the new government.

outside hands

For his part, the governor of the Darfur region of western Sudan, Moni Arko Minawi, on Friday accused unnamed governments of inflaming the situation and stimulating tension in Sudan.

Minawi said in a tweet on Twitter, "It seems that there are governments and hands that have an interest in fueling the situation and stimulating congestion. I condemn in the strongest terms the excessive violence in the face of peaceful processions, mercy and immortality for all souls and healing for the wounded."

He also condemned "the clear targeting of the press and media and the raiding of the channels' offices."


international condemnation

At the international level, the European Union strongly condemned the deaths of demonstrators at the hands of security forces in Thursday's demonstrations.

The union said, in a statement, that the continuation of the campaign against the media and attacks on hospitals is unacceptable.

He pointed out that more than a month after the signing of the political declaration between Al-Burhan and Hamdok, no credible investigations had been conducted into the deaths that occurred.

As for the head of the United Nations Mission to Support the Transition in Sudan, Volker Perthes, he expressed his concern about the killing of demonstrators and the attack on press freedom.

The US Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken, had expressed his dissatisfaction with the reports he received of the Sudanese security forces' use of lethal force against demonstrators, blocking the Internet, and attempting to shut down the media.

Blinken added - in a tweet on Twitter - that the United States stands by the Sudanese people in their demand for freedom, peace and justice.

Since last October 25, Sudan has witnessed protests rejecting exceptional measures, including declaring a state of emergency, dissolving the Sovereignty Councils and transitional ministers, dismissing Hamdok, and arresting party leaders and officials, within measures described by political forces as a military coup.

On November 21, last November, Al-Burhan and Hamdok signed a political agreement that includes the return of Hamdok to his position, the formation of a government of competencies, the release of political detainees, and the two parties pledge to work together to complete the democratic path.

However, political and civil forces expressed their rejection of the agreement as an attempt to legitimize what they describe as a coup, pledging to continue protests until full civilian rule is achieved.