Summary

Khartoum is in a state of chaos amid a military operation to clear a large protest sit-in at the defense ministry.

According to early reports, live ammunition is being used to clear protestors and at least nine people have been killed. The army now appears to be in control of the sit-in area; however, protestors have fanned out into the city and some are setting up new barricades.

The sit-in has been active since the protests flared up in April, resulting in the downfall of long-serving President Omar al-Bashir. Back then some elements within the armed forces were sympathetic to protestors’ demands for the president to step down. Now that patience seems to have worn thin amid deadlocked talks between the two sides and intermittent outbreaks of violence.