Thousands of Protesters Sit-in Around the Residence of the Sudanese President

Thousands of Sudanese protesters gathered for the second consecutive day on Sunday, April 7, in front of the army command headquarters in Khartoum, the capital, demanding military support for their call for the resignation of Omar al-Bashir from the presidency. According to reports, these protesters also staged a sit-in around the presidential residence in central Khartoum, calling for his removal. AFP reported that security forces fired tear gas and arrested several demonstrators who were chanting slogans such as 'Sudan rises, the army rises.' According to the Associated Press, organizers of the protests say that at least five protesters have been killed by security forces in the past 24 hours. Anti-government protests in Sudan have been ongoing for more than three months, and reports indicate that the Sunday gathering is the largest opposition rally against Omar al-Bashir since the protests began. Omar al-Bashir has been president of Sudan for 26 years. Reuters reported on Sunday, quoting a protester identified as a university professor, that over one hundred thousand people have protested. This shows that we have won, and we are confident that the regime will fall. Protesters against Omar al-Bashir managed for the first time on Saturday to gather in front of a complex that houses the army command, the Ministry of Defense, and the official residence of senior government officials, overcoming security barriers. AFP noted that some protesters spent the night at this location, quoting one of them as saying, 'We will stay here until he resigns.' The protests on Saturday, April 6, were held to mark the thirty-fourth anniversary of the overthrow of the regime of Jaafar Nimeiri, known as the April 6 protests. The series of protests against al-Bashir began over three months ago when residents of Atbara, a city in central Sudan, protested against rising bread prices. These protests quickly spread, with demonstrators in various cities of Sudan calling for Omar al-Bashir's resignation. In the past three months, dozens have been killed in various protests, with Sudanese officials reporting 32 deaths and Human Rights Watch reporting 52. Omar al-Bashir has rejected the protesters' demands for his resignation, stating that 'opponents can only come to power through the ballot box.'