KHARTOUM, Sudan

Dozens of protesters were injured in Saturday’s protests demanding full civilian rule in Sudan, according to local medics on Sunday.

In a statement, the Central Committee of Sudanese Doctors said 34 protesters sustained injuries during Saturday’s rallies, including five who were violently beaten by police batons.

Thousands demonstrated in the capital Khartoum and the central city of Madani to demand the handover of power to civilians.

Sudan has witnessed protests since Oct. 25 in response to exceptional measures taken by army chief Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, most notably the imposition of a state of emergency and the dissolution of Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok’s transitional government, a move decried by political forces as a “military coup”.

At least 83 protesters have been killed in protests in Sudan since October, according to local medics.

* Writing by Ahmed Asmar