Sudan pro-democracy protesters to march on presidential palace

Demands for full civilian rule are ongoing after an agreement reinstating civilian Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok.

Sudanese security forces have fired tear gas to disperse pro-democracy protesters near the the presidential palace in the capital, Khartoum, according to witnesses.

The rally on Tuesday was the latest show of opposition to military rule since last month’s coup that ended a partnership between civilian political groups and the military.

Army chief General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan on October 25 dissolved the country’s transitional government as security forces detained dozens of politicians, including civilian Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok. However, after international condemnation and mass protests, al-Burhan reinstated Hamdok in a November 21 deal that was slammed by the country’s pro-democracy movement that was against the military’s involvement in politics.

Medics say dozens of people were killed as security forces sought to crush weeks of anti-coup demonstrations, with resistance committees continuing to organise even after Hamdok’s release from house arrest and return to his post last week.

Reporting from Khartoum, Al Jazeera’s Hiba Morgan said armoured vehicles had been positioned to prevent the crowds from reaching the presidential palace.

“People are still angry,” Morgan said. “They say the fact that Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok agreed to negotiate and sign a deal with the military is a betrayal,”

Hamdok has said the deal will result in the release of dozens of detainees, end a crackdown on protesters and preserve billions in foreign aid.

He has pledged to introduce a “technocratic government” of qualified professionals who will lead the country on a path to democracy.

In an exclusive interview with Al Jazeera, Hamdok said the new government would be independent and that the cabinet currently being formed would focus on establishing a constitutional conference and holding elections by June 2023, to complete “the transition to democracy and its related obligations”.

The 14-point deal between Hamdok and the military also provides for the release of all political prisoners detained during the coup and stipulates that a 2019 constitutional declaration be the basis for a political transition.

Last week, the deputy head of Sudan’s governing sovereign council, General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, who is widely known as Hemeti, told Al Jazeera in an interview that Hamdok had been aware of last month’s military takeover before it happened and was “completely agreeable” to it.

Referencing top military generals, the resistance committees said on Monday that they “do not differentiate between Hamdok or al-Burhan or Hemeti and the rest of the generals, they are all participants in the coup and belong in the gallows”.

Western powers have condemned last month’s takeover and suspended economic assistance to Sudan, which has been trying to recover from a deep economic crisis.