Thousands of Sudanese demonstrators took to the streets of Khartoum at the weekend to back calls for the military to take control of the country, according to the BBC.
Several thousand demonstrators gathered outside the presidential palace as the country’s political crisis deepened, the report said.
Civilian leaders say that the demands are part of a power grab from the armed forces.
Military and civilian groups have been sharing power since the toppling of President Omar al-Bashir in 2019, but, according to the BBC, tensions have grown since a coup attempt attributed to followers of Bashir was foiled in September.
Since then, military leaders have been demanding reforms to the Forces of Freedom and Change (FFC) coalition, a civilian alliance which led the anti-Bashir protests and formed a key part of the transitional government. The armed forces have also called for the replacement of the cabinet.
On Saturday, pro-military demonstrators chanted “down with the hunger government” and called for General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, head of the armed forces and Sudan’s joint military-civilian Sovereign Council, to instigate a coup and seize control of the country.
AFP quoted one protester as saying: ‘We need a military government, the current government has failed to bring us justice and equality.’
Sudan’s civilian Prime Minister, Abdallah Hamdok, unveiled a plan on Friday to tackle what he called the country’s ‘worst and most dangerous’ political crisis in its two-year transition.
Hamdok was sworn in as Prime Minister in August 2019, after mass protests saw the military step in and end the 30-year-rule of Omar al-Bashir in April.
But support for the transitional government has slumped in recent months as economic reforms spearheaded by Hamdok have seen fuel subsidies slashed and inflation soar.