Sudanese protesters on strike as stalemate with army persists

Hundreds of pbadengers at Khartoum airport and the main bus terminal of the Sudanese capital were stranded on Tuesday as protesters began a two-day national strike to pressure the army to give power to a civil administration.

Leaders of a protest-umbrella movement remain at odds with army generals, who took power after overthrowing President Omar al-Bashir last month to determine who should lead a new body leader, a civilian or a soldier.

The new governing body should establish a civilian transitional government, which would in turn prepare for the first post-Bashir elections after an interim period of three years.

In an effort to increase pressure on the ruling military council, the Alliance for Freedom and Change protest movement called for a two-day general strike starting Tuesday.

Hundreds of pbadengers were stranded at Khartoum airport as dozens of site employees went on strike, chanting "Civil Regime, Civil Regime," an AFP correspondent said. .

Many employees wore banners or badges marked "We are on strike".

Sudanese airlines Badr, Tarco and Nova suspended flights Tuesday, although some international flights are still scheduled.

Pbadengers were also stranded at Khartoum 's main bus station, while hundreds of employees attended the strike.

Many carried banners on which one could read: "Today, tomorrow, no bus, we are on strike".

"I have to go to Gadaref to find Eid in my family, but I'm not angry because I understand the reason for the strike," said traveler Fatima Omar while she waited with her children at the terminal. bus.

"Still no breakthrough"

The leader of the protest, Siddiq Farukh, told AFP that the strike was a message to the world that the Sudanese people "do not want power to be with the army".

Another prominent protester, Wajdi Saleh, told reporters on Monday that there was "no breakthrough" in the negotiations, but that the protest movement was ready to negotiate if the generals proposed new discussions.

"We hope that we will reach an agreement with the military council and that we will not have to go on an indefinite strike," he said.

The protest leaders said doctors, lawyers, prosecutors, employees in the water and electricity sectors, public transport, railways, telecommunications and civil aviation should take part in the strike.

They said that shares in the telecommunications and aviation sectors would not affect operations.

But the protest movement's plan was hit hard after a key member, the Umma National Party, declared that he opposed the plan because it had not been there. Unanimous decision to strike.

Umma and her leader, Sadiq al-Mahdi, have for decades been the main opponents of Bashir's iron-fist regime. They rallied to the protest movement after protests across the country in December.

Mahdi's elected government was overthrown by Bashir during a coup d'etat backed by Islamists in 1989.

The civil rule & # 39; only solution & # 39;

Demonstrator Hazar Mustafa said that a civilian government was the only solution to Sudan's problems.

"We see the military council as part of the old regime, we do not see it defending any rights and building a just state," she said.

The army chased Bashir in April after months of demonstrations against his autocratic regime, including a sit-in organized by tens of thousands of protesters outside the army's headquarters in Khartoum.

But the generals, backed by key regional powers, resisted calls from Western protesters and governments to cede power to civilians.

Thousands of protesters are still camped in front of the army headquarters, demanding the resignation of the generals.

Before the strike, the head of the ruling military council, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and his deputy, General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, visited the regional allies of Khartoum, namely Egypt, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates.

Egypt and oil-rich Gulf states Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are perceived as a support of the generals, even as the United States is leading Western calls for a rapid transition to a civilian regime.

Before suspending talks last week, protesters and generals agreed on several key issues, including the three-year transition and the creation of a 300-member parliament, the two-thirds of legislators from the protesters coordination group.

Negotiations were blocked, however, with the leaders of the demonstrations insisting that a civilian should preside over the new sovereign council, composed mostly of civilians, proposals rejected by the army.