Photo taken on Nov. 1, 2021 shows road blocked with makeshift brick barricades by demonstrators in Khartoum, Sudan. On Oct. 25, the Sudanese Army took measures ending the partnership between the military and civilian coalition ruling during the transitional period in Sudan. Meanwhile, General Commander of the Sudanese Armed Forces Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan declared a state of emergency across the country and dissolved the sovereign council and government.(Photo: Xinhua)

Sudanese anti-coup demonstrators built street barricades in and around the capital overnight Saturday following calls for civil disobedience to protest October's military coup.

Activists were seen working in darkness to pile up bricks and large slabs to block streets in Khartoum and neighboring cities, according to witnesses and AFP correspondents. 

Their preparation followed calls for civil disobedience made by the Sudanese Professionals Association (SPA), an umbrella of unions which were instrumental in the 2018-19 protests which ousted the longtime president Omar al-Bashir. 

The SPA circulated its appeals via text messages to bypass internet outages since October 25, the day of the putsch. 

"The Sudanese people have rejected the military coup," the SPA said on Twitter, vowing "no negotiation, no partnership, no legitimacy."

Nationwide protests - including by tens of thousands on October 30 - have been met by a deadly crackdown. 

At least 14 demonstrators have been killed and about 300 wounded during the protests, according to the independent Central Committee of Sudan's Doctors.

By Sunday morning, some shops were still open but others were shuttered in Khartoum and its twin cities of Omdurman and Khartoum-North, according to witnesses. 

"Movement on the streets is less than usual but there is not full blockage of streets or closure of shops" after the civil disobedience call, said a witness from Omdurman who declined to give his name fearing reprisals. 

Almost two weeks ago Sudan's top general Abdel Fattah al-Burhan dissolved the government as well as the ruling joint military-civilian Sovereign Council that was supposed to lead the country toward full civilian rule.

AFP