Sudan braced Sunday for a mass protest in the capital against the country’s ruling generals, as calls mounted for restraint to prevent a new military crackdown on demonstrators.
The planned “million-man” march is seen as a test for protest organizers who have been hit by a June 3 raid on a Khartoum sit-in and a subsequent Internet blackout that has curbed their ability to mobilize support.
Dozens of demonstrators were killed and hundreds wounded when armed men in military fatigues stormed the sit-in outside army headquarters, shooting and beating protesters who had camped there since April 6.
The new protest comes at a time when Ethiopia and the African Union (AU) are jointly mediating between the protesters and generals.
A top general, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, warned Saturday that no vandalism would be tolerated.
“There are vandals, there are people who have an agenda, a hidden agenda, we don’t want problems,” said Dagalo, the ruling military council’s deputy head and chief of the feared paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).