Thousands Protest against Military Takeover in Sudan

In Khartoum, demonstrators chanted "the people want the downfall of the regime".

In the capital's twin city Omdurman others shouted "power to the people, a civilian government is the people's choice", AFP reported.

General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan seized power and detained Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok on October 25, but after international condemnation and mass protests he reinstated the premier on Sunday.

But protest organizers in the northeast African state have accused Hamdok of "treason" and vowed to maintain pressure on the military-civilian authority.

Activists took to social media this week to call for "Martyrs' Day" demonstrations on Thursday, in honor of the 42 protesters killed in the post-coup crackdown, according to an updated toll from medics.

Hamdok, who has been prime minister in the transitional government since the ouster of long-time autocratic ruler Omar al-Bashir in 2019, said Wednesday he had partnered with the military in order to "stop the bloodshed" and to "not squander the gains of the last two years".

Hamdok himself was placed under house arrest after the putsch, which sparked a wave of mass street protests that triggered a deadly crackdown by security forces.

The deal he signed with Burhan lays down a "clear date" for Sudan's first free elections in three decades slated for July 2023, the premier said.

Twelve out of 17 ministers from a bloc calling for a purely civilian government resigned on Monday, rejecting Hamdok's strategy of engaging with the military.

Reserving their ire for Burhan, protesters in North Khartoum chanted that "Burhan is dirty".

Ihsan Omar, a witness in Omdurman, said he had witnessed some 500 people taking part in a rally.

Volker Perthes, the UN special envoy to Sudan who helped mediate between the military and civilian factions after the coup, said Wednesday that the rallies were "another test of credibility" of the agreement.

He urged authorities to allow demonstrations to go ahead "without bloodshed or arbitrary arrests".