KHARTOUM, Sudan
Sudanese security forces shot dead an anti-coup protester on Wednesday as American diplomats visited Khartoum seeking to help end a crisis which has claimed dozens of lives and derailed the country's democratic transition.
For
two days shops have shuttered and protesters have blockaded streets in a civil
disobedience campaign to protest the killing of seven people during a
demonstration on Monday, one of the bloodiest days since the October 25
military coup.
The
latest killing took place in Khartoum's twin city of Omdurman where protesters
opposed to the coup had set up barricades.
Pro-democracy
medics from the Doctors' Committee said the protester was shot in the torso
"by live bullets of the (security) forces".
Witnesses
also reported the use of tear gas by security forces in Omdurman and eastern
Khartoum.
The
death brings to 72 the number of people killed in a security crackdown against
protesters who have taken to the streets -- sometimes in the tens of thousands
-- calling for a return to the country's democratic transition and opposing the
latest military putsch.
Protesters
have been shot by live rounds and hundreds have been wounded, according to the
Doctors' Committee.
The
Forces for Freedom and Change, the leading civilian pro-democracy group, called
for more protests on Thursday in Khartoum "in tribute to the
martyrs", and nationwide on Friday.
Before
the latest fatality, US Assistant Secretary of State Molly Phee and special
envoy for the Horn of Africa, David Satterfield, held meetings with the
bereaved families of people killed during the protests, the US embassy said.
They
also met with members of the Sudanese Professionals Association (SPA), an
umbrella of unions which were instrumental in protests which ousted president
Omar al-Bashir in April 2019, as well as the mainstream faction of the Forces
for Freedom and Change.
Its
spokesman Wagdy Saleh said they pleaded for "an end to the systematic
violence towards civilians" and a "credible political process".
The
diplomats are scheduled to meet with others including military leaders and
political figures.
"Their
message will be clear: the United States is committed to freedom, peace, and
justice for the Sudanese people," the US State Department said ahead of
the visit.
The
diplomats held earlier talks in Saudi Arabia with the "Friends of
Sudan" -- a group of Western and Arab countries favouring transition to
civilian rule.
In
a statement, the group backed a United Nations initiative announced last week
to hold intra-Sudanese consultations to break the political impasse.
"We
urge all to engage in good faith and reestablish public trust in the inevitable
transition to democracy," the group said.
"Ideally
this political process will be time-bound and culminate in the formation of a
civilian-led government which will prepare for democratic
elections."
While
the US diplomats visited, coup leader General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan announced
that vice-ministers -- some of whom served before the coup and some appointed
after -- would now become ministers.
A
statement from his office called it a "cabinet in charge of current
affairs".
But
it has no prime minister, since the civilian premier Abdalla Hamdok resigned in
early January after trying to cooperate with the military.
As
part of the civil disobedience campaign, judicial workers including prosecutors
and judges said they would not work for a state committing "crimes against
humanity".
University
professors, corporations and doctors also joined the movement, according to
separate statements.
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