Tens of thousands of people took to the streets of Sudan on Thursday to celebrate the first anniversary of the start of the uprising that toppled long-time ruler Omar al-Bashir.
Marchers gathered in different parts of the capital Khartoum and in the city of Atbara where protests began against dire economic conditions on December 19 last year.
“Our martyrs have not died, they live with the revolutionaries!” marchers chanted in Khartoum, referring to people killed during demonstrations that led to the military deposing Bashir on April 11 after over three decades in power.
About 10,000 people gathered in front of the Martyrs’ Centre in Khartoum, set up by the government for the families of people killed in protests.
“Blood for blood, we won’t accept blood money!” they chanted, a rallying cry for justice for the protesters who were killed.
A Sudanese court on Saturday convicted Bashir on corruption charges and sentenced him to two years of detention in a reform facility, the first ruling against the former president.
Sudan is now run by transitional authorities under a three-year, power-sharing deal reached in August between the then-ruling military council and opposition and protest groups.
