Anti-Coup Protesters Clash With Military In Sudan's Capital, Warning Shots Fired

Anti-Coup Protesters Clash With Military in Sudan's Capital, Warning Shots Fired

KHARTOUM (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 26th October, 2021) Anti-coup protesters and the military are clashing on the Shambat bridge, which connects Sudanese capital Khartoum and its satellite city of Omdurman, a Sputnik correspondent reported from the scene.

The military closed the bridge on Monday morning.

Protesters were throwing stones at soldiers, who responded by firing warning shots to disperse the crowd. Gunshots were heard for about seven minutes.

Sudanese military detained Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok and several other cabinet ministers on Monday, prompting hundreds of people to take to the streets of Khartoum to protest the military takeover.

The head of Sudan's Sovereign Council, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, declared a state of emergency and the dissolution of the council and government. He stated that the military will lead the democratic transition until power is transferred to a civilian government, and pledged to ensure that elections are held in July 2023.

The coup comes more than two years after demonstrators forced longtime president Omar Bashir out of office and put a civilian government in place that was to oversee transition to a democratic rule.