Sudan: Internet, mobile service disrupted again in Khartoum

Opponents of military rule in Sudan on Saturday planned their tenth major demonstration since an October 25 coup as internet services were disrupted in the capital, Khartoum, and soldiers blocked roads, two Reuters witnesses said.

Locals were unable to make or receive calls domestically, the witnesses said.

At the same time, soldiers and Rapid Support Forces were out in force blocking roads leading to bridges linking Khartoum with Omdurman, its sister city across the Nile river, they said.

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The SUNA state news agency reported that the province of Khartoum closed bridges on Friday evening in anticipation of the protests.

“Departing from peacefulness, approaching and infringing on sovereign and strategic sites in central Khartoum is a violation of the laws,” SUNA reported, citing a provincial security coordination committee.

“Chaos and abuses will be dealt with,” it added.

Protests against the coup have continued even after the reinstatement of the deposed Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok on November 21, with demonstrators demanding that the military should have no government role in a transition to free elections.

A senior official in one of the internet provider companies in Sudan told Reuters the service disruption followed a decision by the National Telecommunication Corporation, which oversees the sector.