SUDAN INSIGHT ALERT: African Centre for Justice and Peace Studies - Urgent call to investigate the killing and injuring of protesters in Khartoum

14/5/2021: African Centre for Justice and Peace Studies - Urgent call to investigate the killing and injuring of protesters in Khartoum

 After the army dispersed a protest that killed two and wounded 37, African Centre for Justice and Peace Studies (ACJPS) call for Sudanese authorities to ensure law enforcement agencies comply with international standards on the use of force, “[making it clear] that arbitrary or abusive use of force by security forces will be punished.”

 ACJPS specifically suggest that police and other security services policing demonstrations or performing other law enforcement duties receive adequate training and caution on the use of force in line with the UN Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials and the UN Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials.

Furthermore, ACJPS call on Sudanese authorities to refrain from deploying armed forces and government-sponsored militias including Rapid Support Forces to disperse peaceful gatherings.

SUDAN NEWS ALERT: Reuters - Clashes in Sudan's capital after deal on transitional power structure

14/5/19: Reuters- Clashes in Sudan’s capital after deal on transitional power structure, by Nadine Awadalla

 

Nadina Awadalla reports on the recent unrest stirring in Khartoum. Awadalla reveals that the unrest came after the Transitionary military Council (TMC) and opposition groups announced that they come to an agreement regarding the power structure of the transitionary period.

 

Awadalla states that heavy gunfire was heard late into Monday evening, with the military council claiming that a military police officer had been killed and many protestors wounded. The TMC has blamed the discontentment of armed groups with the progress towards a political deal for the unrest but protests suspect that counter-revolutionary forces linked to the former regime are behind the incited violence of the past few days.

 

Awadalla also reveals that paramilitary forces have been patrolling the streets of Khartoum, using tear gas and gunshots to scatter protestors blocking roads. 

SUDAN NEWS ALERT: Reuters - Sudan opposition holds military responsible for Monday violence

14/5/19: Reuters – Sudan opposition holds military responsible for Monday violence

Reuters reports that Sudan’s opposition alliance said on Tuesday the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces had used live ammunition on Monday and that the military was responsible for what happened.

 The opposition alliance, known as the Declaration of Freedom and Change Forces (DFCF), also said that Wednesday would be the final day of negotiations with the ruling military council for a handover of power to civilians.

SUDAN INSIGHT ALERT: New York Times - Sudan's Omar al-Bashir Charged in Connection With Killing of Protestors

14/5/19: New York Times - Sudan’s Omar al-Bashir Charged in Connection With Killing of Protestors, by Declan Walsh

 Declan Walsh reports on the charges Omar al-Bashir is facing, stating that al-Bashir and other former figureheads are being accused of “inciting and criminal complicity” in the deaths of protestors since December 2018.  

 Walsh explains that al-Bashir is also being charged in connection to the death of martyred doctor, Dr Babikir Salama, who is just one of 90 people killed since the start of the protests in December 2018. Walsh implies that until the charges were announced on Monday, no former senior government official has been held accountable for their doings.  Walsh explains also that a statement released by news agency on Monday revealed that prosecutors are contemplating other potential crimes which al-Bashir can be charged for.

 Walsh suggests that talk of al-Bashir’s fate has “moved into the background” in the past few weeks, as protests are too busy negotiating with the military council, calling for civilian rule.

SUDAN NEWS ALERT: Multiple sources - Security agents attack Sudanese sit-ins, several killed

14/5/19: Multiple sources – Security agents attack Sudanese sit-ins, several killed

 

Members of the Sudanese security forces have shot and killed six people, including an army officer, in overnight clashes with protesters, a medical union said.

 Local media suggested some of the assailants appeared to be wearing military uniform, including that of Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF), the paramilitary force behind counterinsurgency campaigns in Darfur and other regions that is led by Gen Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, the deputy head of the military council, who is widely known by his nickname Hemedti.

 The attackers were strongly condemned, however, by the head of the transitional military council, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, who said they were “trying to abort agreement with the forces of freedom and change”, as the opposition coalition is known.

Burhan pointed to the peaceful character of the Sudanese revolution, adding: “The army is committed to protecting the protesters and we will arrest the perpetrators and we will hold them accountable