Sudan: What's happening and why are people protesting?

Protests are taking place in Sudan right now - we can help explain why

Lots of people are protesting in Sudan right now, and you might be wondering why that is.

On Monday, the army attempted to take power of the country and overthrow the government. This is called a coup.

The Prime Minister, Abdalla Hamdok, was then arrested by the military and the government dissolved.

Many Sudanese people were angry this happened and are now protesting against the military.

These protests have now turned violent, with 10 people reported to have died.

How has the country got to this point?

Both men and women poured on to the streets in opposition to the coup

Sudan is located in North-East Africa. It shares borders with Egypt, Libya, Chad and Ethiopia.

Sudan is one of the largest countries in Africa.

In August 2019, Sudan's long-term leader President Omar al-Bashir was overthrown by the military.

Civilians argued that there should be a democratic process to appoint the next government.

But since then, the two sides have been negotiating how to do this.

In the meantime, they have been running Sudan jointly through what is called the Sovereign Council, but they disagree quite often.

In this period, the Sudanese people have suffered from shortages of food, fuel and medicine.

There have been a number of failed coup attempts by the military over the last two years, the most recent of them in September.

What's happening now?

A young Sudanese girl takes part in a demonstration in Omdurman, a city in Sudan

Since the latest coup, the head of the Sovereign Council has given a speech announcing a state of emergency in Sudan.

The Prime Minister hasn't been seen since Sunday but the leader of the coup, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, says that he's been kept at the general's house and will be returned on Tuesday.

The internet has also been restricted and the airports closed.

On-going protests show demonstrators out in the capital city of Kharoum asking for a fairer process to decide who should rule the country.