13-Year-Old Girl Among Latest Deaths Reported From Protests Against Sudan Military Coup

A 13-year-old girl is one of the two latest deaths from protests against the Sudan military coup.

Monday, a doctors union said two more Sudanese protestors died in the hospital from gunshot wounds during protests over the weekend. The Sudan Doctors committee said the two new deaths were Remaaz Hatim al-atta, who was shot in the head in front of her family’s home in Khartoum, and Omar Adam, who was shot in the neck during protests in the same city. They were shot on October 25 and pronounced dead in the past 24 hours, the committee said.

This raises the death toll to seven from Saturday’s protests when thousands of pro-democracy protestors rallied against the military coup last month.

The committee said all but one died from gunshots, according to the Associated Press. Additionally, the committee also said over 200 others were wounded when security forces used live ammunition and tear gas to scatter protestors in the capital city of Khartoum and its twin city Omdurman.

Sudanese police said its forces only used tear gas to scatter protestors allegedly attacking police stations and vehicles and denied the use of live ammunition. At least 39 policemen were wounded on Saturday, they said.

The coup on October 25 destroyed a planned transition to democratic rule, over two years after a popular uprising forced the removal of longtime autocrat Omar al-Bashir and his Islamist government.

The coup has faced international criticism, along with massive protests in Khartoum and other places in the country. Since October 25, at least 23 protestors have been killed, reported the doctor’s committee.

For more reporting from the Associated Press, see below:

Saturday’s demonstrations came as the military has tightened its grip on power, appointing a new, military-run Sovereign Council. The council, chaired by General Abdel-Fattah Burhan, held its first meeting on Sunday, and issued a statement saying that a civilian government would be formed in the coming days.

The appointment of the council has angered the pro-democracy alliance and frustrated the United States and other countries that have urged the generals to reverse their coup.

U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Molly Phee was in Sudan to push for a solution to the crisis, through the release of government officials and politicians arrested since the coup, the return of Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok to office, and the restoration of his government, according to a statement from the State Department. Hamdok has been under house arrest since the military’s takeover.

Phee’s visit included meetings with Sudanese leaders from the government, political parties and civil society, the statement said.

Cracks, meanwhile, started to surface among the pro-democracy movement over a call by a group of political parties and movements to return to the pre-coup power-sharing deal between the protesters and the generals.

The Sudanese Professionals Association, which spearheaded the uprising against al-Bashir, criticized the call, insisting on the military fully handing power over to civilians.

The association said it would work with the Resistance Committees and other groups that are part of Sudan’s pro-democracy movement to topple the military council and establish a civilian government to lead the transition to democracy.