Protest groups demanding a return to democratic rule said they would stage an indefinite campaign of sit-ins and other peaceful actions in response to the deaths.
Medics who agreed with the protesters said the nine people were killed mostly by gunfire from security forces in Khartoum and the neighboring towns of Omdurman and Bahri. Sudan’s governing council did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
“The sit-in may develop, but we have to reinforce it properly,” al-Reda al-Rashid told Reuters as he stood with other protesters drinking tea and writing slogans in central Khartoum on Friday.
“Those who came from Omdurman can join our sit-in, and others from the surrounding areas can also join.”
Thursday’s rallies came after more than eight months of demonstrations against military leaders who staged a coup last October, ending a power-sharing deal with civilians negotiated after the 2019 ouster of Omar al-Bashir.
Tear gas
Khartoum state police said in a statement that they used tear gas and water cannons and made arrests on Thursday after protesters armed with stones and metal rods advanced on their positions.
Dozens of security forces were injured, some seriously, the statement said. Police said they had not received reports of six deaths – apparently a reference to an earlier estimate of the death toll from Thursday.
The medical group – the Central Committee of Sudanese Doctors – said on Friday that another protester beaten during demonstrations in the capital a week earlier had died of his injuries, bringing the death toll of protesters since the coup to 113.
Human rights lawyers said at least 150 protesters were detained on Thursday. The military-led government has not released its own estimates of arrests or deaths.
The United Nations, the African Union and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), which are trying to mediate, said they condemned “in the strongest possible terms the use of excessive force by security forces” on Thursday.
“We again call on the authorities to take all necessary measures to stop the violence, to stop arbitrary arrests and detentions and to respect the right to freedom of expression and assembly,” the joint statement said.
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