Pro-military protesters block roads and bridges in Khartoum

(24 Oct 2021) Pro-military protesters briefly blocked major roads and bridges in Sudan's capital on Sunday, amid growing tensions between general and the pro-democracy movement which fuelled the uprising against autocratic former President Omar al-Bashir. The move caused traffic to clog the streets early Sunday, the first work day of the week - especially on Nile Street, a main traffic artery in Khartoum. Later in the day, security forces dispersed the protesters using tear gas, and opened the blocked roads. Video on social media purportedly showed protesters fleeing over the bridge and onto Nile Street. The tensions come weeks ahead of a scheduled rotation of the leadership on the ruling sovereign council from the military to civilians, according to the constitutional declaration that established the joint government in August 2019. The souring ties between the military and civilians in the ruling government threaten Sudan's fragile transition to democracy since the military's ouster of al-Bashir and his Islamist government in April 2019 after nearly three decades of autocratic rule. The current crisis surfaced with a coup attempt last month. Officials blamed al-Bashir loyalists for the move. But the generals lashed out at the civilian part of the government, accusing politicians of seeking government posts rather than helping ease people's economic suffering. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...