This archive report was first published on 1 July 2020.
On June 30, 2020, tens of thousands of people gathered in Khartoum and its twin cities, Khartoum North and Omdurman, to demand faster reform and greater civilian rule in Sudan's transition towards democracy. The protests were largely peaceful, but one person was killed and several others were injured.
The government had closed roads and bridges leading to the centre of the capital in anticipation of the demonstrations, which were the largest since a transitional government took power late last year following the ouster of Islamist ruler Omar al-Bashir after three decades.
Similar protests took place across the country, including Kassala in eastern Sudan and in the restive region of Darfur. Protesters chanted 'freedom, peace and justice,' the slogan of the anti-Bashir movement, and some blocked streets with burning tyres.
The protests came on a highly symbolic day, as it was the anniversary of Bashir's ascent to power in a 1989 military coup and also marks the day one year ago when thousands marched to pressure the generals who assumed power after Bashir's ouster to resume negotiations over a peaceful power-sharing deal with civilian opposition.
On Monday, Premier Abdalla Hamdok, a technocrat, had affirmed his commitment to fully implementing the goals of the revolution and fighting for its political ideas. He said that all the demands submitted to him in the memorandum of the resistance committees and the families of martyrs would be meeting within two weeks.
Hamdok's government has been preoccupied with a worsening economic crisis, with Sudan's pound currency having plunged and annual inflation topping 100 per cent. Last week, foreign donor nations pledged $1.8 billion at a conference hosted by Germany to help Sudan overcome the economic crisis, but this was well below the $8 billion in aid Hamdok has said is needed.
