South Sudanese residents in Sudan’s capital, Khartoum, have said that they are afraid for their lives as uncertainty and worry reign in the city after days of large protests against military authority, which resulted in the resignation of the country’s Prime Minister.
Following months of political instability, Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok resigned on Sunday, as residents increased protests calling for the restoration of full civilian rule.
The protests, which have been ongoing since October, when military officers took power in a coup, have been greeted with severe force by security forces, resulting in more than 50 protestor deaths, according to the Sudan Central Doctors’ Committee, a pro-democracy organization.
Mr. Hamdok’s departure gives the army complete authority and is a further setback to Sudan’s delicate attempts to transition to a democratic administration after the resignation of Sudan’s long-term authoritarian President Omar al-Bashir in 2019.
According to a South Sudanese citizen and resident of Omdurman, Khartoum’s twin city, protester attacks against South Sudanese residents have increased significantly since the protests began.
Several South Sudanese expressed shock after witnessing daylight robbery. In a Juba monitor report verified by NCMP, a woman said that many people are robbed in broad daylight while walking to marketplaces to buy food.
Activist Edmund Yakani urged South Sudanese leaders to make efforts to bring Sudanese parties and leaders to a common understanding and save the country from falling into instability, adding that political developments in Khartoum have a negative impact on progress in improving relations between the two sisterly countries (Sudan and South Sudan) (Sudan and South Sudan).
The Executive Director of Community Empowerment for Progress Organization (CEPO) said that the situation in Khartoum continues to delay the long-awaited reopening of the border, which would have facilitated trade and economic progress between the two “Sudans”.
“We are concerned that the developments in Sudan may have an influence on our borders, particularly the deal struck between Sudan and South Sudan.”
So, my request to President Salva Kiir Mayardit in this current scenario is for him to speak on the political developments in Sudan, as he is the guarantor in the Juba Peace Treaty for peace in Sudan,” the activist remarked.
Sudanese civilian and military officials had negotiated an uneasy power-sharing agreement after the army staged a coup on October 25 and initially placed Prime Minister Hamdok under house arrest.
