Anti-coup protests in SUdan amid disrupted internet services

Sudan has censored the internet ahead of anticipated large protests against the country's military coup on Saturday, with security forces stationed throughout Khartoum and key bridges connecting the capital to the suburbs cut.

Security forces will "deal with those who break the law and create chaos," according to Khartoum's state government.

Activists who have been using the internet to organize previous major rallies had scheduled the latest on Saturday, two months on since the generals initiated their takeover on October 25.

Earlier, General Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, the military chief, placed Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok under house arrest for weeks before releasing him on November 21.

Many of Hamdok's pro-democracy followers were angered by the decision, which they saw as creating a veneer of legitimacy for Burhan's coup.

Online protesters have called for more protests, rallying supporters with chants such as "no negotiations with the army" and "return the soldiers to their barracks."

Governor of Khartoum: Attackers will be punished

However, since Friday evening, bridges connecting Khartoum to the cities of Omdurman and North Khartoum across the Nile River have been closed.

The main streets in central Khartoum, where the protest organizers planned to stage the protests, were also shut by security troops.

Thousands of people have gathered outside important government facilities, including parliament, the presidential palace, and the army headquarters in recent rallies.

Khartoum's Governor warned that "approaching or attacking buildings of strategic sovereignty is punishable by law."

According to the Independent Doctors' Committee, at least 48 people have died as a result of security personnel shooting live bullets and firing tear gas canisters at protesters since the military takeover.

Sudan, one of the poorest countries on the planet, has a long history of military coups, with only brief periods of democratic administration since its independence in 1956.

According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, over 14 million people, or one third of Sudan's population, would require humanitarian assistance next year, the highest level in a decade.

Al-Waleed Ali to Al Mayadeen

The Sudanese Professionals Association Spokesperson, Al-Waleed Ali to Al Mayadeen, said that the revolutionary forces are preparing to escalate with the coup authority.

He indicated that the security presence reflects the authorities' fear of the mass tide.