SUDAN NEWS ALERT: Radio Dabanga - South Darfur sit-in enters fourth day

27/7/2020: Radio Dabanga - South Darfur sit-in enters fourth day

 Radio Dabanga report on a sit-in in Gereida in South Darfur, following the attack on Abdos village that killed 15 and wounded over 25.

 The protesters demand that the director of Gereida locality, the local police chief, the commander of the Gereida army garrison, the army and Rapid Support Forces (RSF) troops in the area are replaced, as well as urging an investigation into the RSF involvement in the ‘Abdos massacre’, opening of police stations in all areas where displaced have returned, a specialised Public Prosecutor in the locality, the removal of settlers from the farms of the displaced, and more army forces in the area. Protesters also demand clean drinking water, agricultural machinery and better medical facilities.

 RSF deputy commander Abdelrahim Hamdan visited the sit-in and announced compensation for the families of the dead, a generator for Gereida, two new hospital wards and water wells each and seeds for farmers. 

SUDAN NEWS ALERT: BBC - Sudan to send more troops to Darfur after deadly attacks

27/7/2020: BBC - Sudan to send more troops to Darfur after deadly attacks

 BBC’s report on the Sudanese government’s announcement that troops are being deployed to Darfur, provides some context on the spike in violence.

 The BBC attribute the rise in violence to a new conflict over land rights between people who are returning to Darfur in time for the July-November planting season after a government-sponsored deal, and those who took over the land after previous inhabitants were forced to flee after the Darfur War started in 2003.

SUDAN NEWS ALERT: Radio Dabanga - West Darfur: At least 60 dead in Misterei massacre

27/7/2020: Radio Dabanga - West Darfur: At least 60 dead in Misterei massacre

 Radio Dabanga report that at least 60 were killed, and 60 were wounded, in an attack by armed men in Misterei in West Darfur.

 Members of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) were reportedly among the attackers, who arrived in vehicles, on motorcycles, and on horses.

 The West Darfur Doctors’ Committee said that they hold the state’s Security Committee responsible for the massacre, which lasted nine hours in total.

 Witnesses of the attack criticised West Darfur authorities for moving slowly, particularly as the Masterei sit-in was attacked ten days earlier.

 In response to increased violence in Darfur, Prime Minister Hamdok announced that a joint force of army soldiers, RSF paramilitaries, and security officers will be deployed in Darfur.

SUDAN NEWS ALERT: AFP – Sudan probe shows paramilitaries involved in deadly raid on sit-in

27/7/19: AFP – Sudan probe shows paramilitaries involved in deadly raid on sit-in

 AFP report that the Rapid Support Forces militia have been blamed for the June 3 massacre following a joint investigation by Sudanese prosecutors and the ruling military council.

 Fatah al-Rahman Saeed, a prosecutor who headed the investigation, said orders had been given to the RSF to clear an area called Colombia, near the protest camp, citing drug dealing and violence.

 However, Saeed claims that an RSF general separately ordered a colonel to disperse the protest camp, despite having no such order from further up the chain of command.

 Saeed said that the RSF troops then “removed barricades, fired tear gas and fired intense and random bullets that led to the killing and wounding of protesters and the burning of tents.”

 All the military figures involved were named only by their initials.  

SUDAN NEWS ALERT: BBC – Sudan to charge eight military officers over deadly crackdown

27/7/19: BBC – Sudan to charge eight military officers over deadly crackdown

 The BBC reports that eight senior military officers are to be charged in Sudan with crimes against humanity over their alleged role in the June 3 massacre.

 Fath al-Rahman Saeed, head of the committee appointed to investigate the massacre, gave the initials of those indicted for crimes against humanity, but he did not name them.

 He told a news conference that three officers had violated orders by moving security forces into the area of the sit-in protest outside the defence ministry.

 The security forces had, in fact, been ordered to clear a different area of the city, nicknamed Colombia, he said.

 Security forces "broke the law and entered the sit-in area", he was quoted by AFP News agency as saying. "[They] removed the barricades, fired tear gas and fired intense and random bullets that led to the killing and wounding of protesters and the burning of tents."

SUDAN NEWS ALERT: AP – Sudan prosecutor: Generals did not order sit-in dispersal

27/7/19: AP – Sudan prosecutor: Generals did not order sit-in dispersal

 AP report that Sudanese prosecutors claimed that the military council did not order the June 3 massacre, blaming Rapid Support Forces militias for the widely condemned dispersal.

 Prosecutor Fathel-Rahman Saeed announced that eight RSF officers exceeded their orders when they led RSF troops to clear the Khartoum sit-in, but did not elaborate on how the investigation would proceed against the accused officers.

 Fathel-Rahman said that security forces were told to “clear” a “lawless” area close to the sit-in (Columbia), not to “raze” the protest camp.

 The opposition Sudanese Congress party, which is part of the protest movement, disputed the prosecutors’ conclusion, noting that security forces moved on June 3 to disperse several sit-ins across the country at the same time, meaning that the break-up was based on a “political decision” made by the authorities.

SUDAN NEWS ALERT: Reuters - Sudan says 87 killed when troops broke up protest, critics say too low

27/7/19: Reuters - Sudan says 87 killed when troops broke up protest, critics say too low

 Reuters reports that Fathalrahman Saeed, the head of the investigative committee into the June 3 massacre appointed by Sudan’s public prosecutor, said that 87 people were killed, a figure regime opponents dismissed as too low.

 Saeed said 17 of the killed were in the square occupied by protesters, with 168 wounded. However, opposition medics said that 127 were killed and 400 were wounded. Saeed added that the committee did not uncover any incidents of rape, despite the testimonies of local medics.  

Ismail Al Taj of the Sudanese Professionals Association said that the investigative committee relied on “inaccurate” Health Ministry records.

 Saeed said that three officers – none of them part of the military council - violated orders by moving Rapid Support Forces into the Khartoum sit-in area, after some “outlaws” formed another gathering in the Columbia area “where…illegal practices [occurred].”

 He said eight (unnamed) officers were charged with crimes against humanity.