Death toll rises to 40 in Sudan anti-coup protests as masses vow to continue rallies

A Sudanese protester died of his wounds on Saturday, taking the death toll from protests against last month’s military takeover to 40 as masses in the country vow to continue with demonstrations calling for a civilian government.

The independent Central Doctors Committee said Mohamed Adam Hadoun, 16, was shot in the head and leg during protests on Nov. 17 and breathed his last on Saturday.

"One martyr passed away... after he succumbed to severe wounds after being hit by live rounds to the head and the leg on November 17," the independent Central Committee of Sudanese Doctors said on Saturday.

At least 15 protesters were killed during the Nov. 17 protesters, according to the Sudanese Professionals Association, which spearheaded demonstrations that led to the ouster of long-serving President Omar al-Bashir in 2019.

Sudanese police have denied opening fire on protesters.

On Friday, small groups of protesters rallied in several neighborhoods after prayers against the military coup, especially in North Khartoum, where people were seen building barricades across the roads. Security forces sporadically fired teargas to disperse them.

The Sudanese Professionals Association (SPA) have urged protesters to keep up their campaign, reporting Friday that security forces had "stormed homes and mosques" in North Khartoum.

The SPA is an umbrella of unions which were instrumental in the months-long demonstrations that ousted president Omar al-Bashir in April 2019.

On Oct. 25, the head of Sudan’s ruling military council, Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, declared a state of emergency and dissolved the transitional Sovereign Council and government amid rival protests and accusations between the military and politicians in the country.

Al-Burhan insists that the measures are meant to protect the country from “imminent danger” and accused those rejecting his move as “stirring chaos.”

Before the military takeover, Sudan was administered by a precarious power-sharing council between the military and the Unity of the Forces for Freedom and Change, which was overseeing the transition period until elections in 2023.