MADRID, 9 (EUROPA PRESS)

At least two young people died this Sunday in a new day of protests and mobilizations to demand the military’s immediate removal from power.

The Sudanese Medical Committee has reported the death of Ali Hob ​​al Din Ali, 26, who was hit in the neck by a tear gas canister fired by security forces.

In addition, Aladín Adel, 17, has died, being treated in the intensive care room after being shot in the neck during his participation in protests on January 6 in Omdurman. “With this, the number of martyrs since the coup has increased to 62”, said the Committee of Doctors.

Pro-democracy marches have taken place on the main streets of Khartoum, as well as the annexed cities of Omdurman and North Khartoum.

Hours before the concentration, security forces had sealed off all roads to the center of the capital, and blocked secondary access such as bridges connecting three cities: Khartoum, Omburman and North Khartoum with concrete blocks and barbed wire.

This action did not prevent clashes around the presidential palace in Khartoum in which the military used tear gas and sonic grenades.

At least 62 people have died as a result of Sudanese forces’ repression of demonstrations since the October 25 coup that ended consolidating the ruling military in the president of the Sovereign Transitional Council and the head of the Sudanese Army, Abdelfatá al Burhan, according to the Sudanese Medical Committee.

For the rest, reactions to UN initiatives have been pouring in, ranging from absolute rejection to uncertainty. For example, the Sudanese Professionals Association, a leading civic organization in Sudan, which was involved in the protests that toppled dictator Omar al Bashir in 2019, rejected the reconciliation plan announced on Saturday by the United Nations, arguing that it legitimized military authority.

The association’s official spokesman, Salá Jafar, has denounced that the proposal by the head of the UN mission, Volker Perthes, contradicts the slogans of the protesters, who demand a complete severing of ties with the military (“No association, no legitimacy, no negotiations”) and very far from a solution. “Volker’s call to negotiate with the coup leaders legitimizes his presence in power,” the spokesman said in a statement compiled by the Sudanese news portal Ajbar.

Meanwhile, the civilian coalition Forces of Freedom and Change (FCC), has indicated that it has yet to receive details about the initiative from the United Nations, which will study whether to officially accept it. “In this context, we at the FCC treat positively any international efforts that help achieve the goals of the Sudanese people to fight the coup and establish a civil and democratic state,” according to a statement.

The international quartet consisting of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Britain and the United States, for their part, welcomed the proposal “with satisfaction”, as did Qatar, Egypt and Bahrain.

“We strongly support the UN-facilitated Dialogue Initiative on Sudan and urge all Sudanese parties to take this opportunity to restore the country’s transition to civil democracy,” the note said.