Sudan risks deep polarization as pro-military protesters converge in Khartoum

Thousands of pro-military protesters have filled the streets Sudan’s capital Khartoum, demanding the government to be dissolved as the political crisis in the country deepens.
On Sunday pro-military Sudanese protesters rallied for a second day
in Khartoum, in an escalation of what the prime minister, Abdalla Hamdok,
called the “worst and most dangerous crisis” of the country’s precarious
transition.
The military and
civilian groups have been sharing power in the east African country in an
uneasy alliance since the toppling of long-standing President Omar al-Bashir,
who was ousted by the army in April 2019 following weeks of mass protests.
Bashir
was ousted by the army in April 2019 in the face of mass protests driven by the
Forces for Freedom and Change (FFC), a civilian alliance that became a key
plank of the transition.
The
latest demonstrations, left undisturbed by security forces, have been organized
by a splinter faction of the FFC. Critics allege that these protests are being
driven by members of the military and security forces, and involve
counter-revolutionary sympathizers with the former regime.
This weekend’s protests come after Prime
Minister Abdalla Hamdok on Friday unveiled
a road map to end what he described as the country's "worst
and most dangerous" political crisis in its two-year transition.
Rival groups advocating for civilian
rule have called for protests on Thursday 21 October in a move expected to
polarize the country and deepen the crisis it faces.
Support for the transitional
government has waned in recent months in the face of its tough economic
reforms, which have included the slashing of fuel subsidies and a managed float
of the Sudanese pound.
Inflation has skyrocketed, reaching
422 percent in July, before easing slightly in August and September.
Earlier this month, a United Nations
source disclosed that Volker Perthes, special representative of the UN
Secretary General for Sudan, has been in Khartoum to undertake a series of
meetings with civil and military officials in the transitional
government.
However, some Sudanese analysts have
played down international involvement, saying the only way to protect the
transition and democracy was through the people of Sudan who had made the
revolution.