One killed as Sudanese march for justice for victims of 2019 sit-in protest
Saturday June 04 2022
Sudanese protesters during a sit-in outside military headquarters in Khartoum on May 15, 2019. PHOTO | FILE
A Sudanese protester was shot dead in the capital Khartoum Friday as he and thousands others in various parts of the country marked the third anniversary of the famous 2019 sit-in protests in which people called for civilian rule.
On Friday, Sudan's Central Medical Committee announced the death of a protester in south Khartoum.
“The spirit of a twenty-year-old martyr rose after he was shot in the chest by live bullets fired by the coup forces as they suppressed the processions of station 7 in Sahafa area,” the committee said in a statement.
“This brings the total number of martyrs of our people counted by the Commission since the coup of October 25th to 99 martyrs who remain prominent flags of the glorious December revolution and immortal in history forever.”
In June 2019 soldiers violently dispersed protesters who had staged a sit-in at the General Command headquarters and were calling for civilian rule, leading to death and injury of dozens of people.
Early on Friday, security officers were deployed in Khartoum in anticipation of demonstrations announced by the resistance committees, coinciding with the third anniversary of the dispersal of the sit-in.
The army and other security forces were deployed in the centre of Khartoum and around the strategic sites, and the General Command was surrounded by a tight security fence, with the surrounding streets closed off.
Authorities also closed Nile bridges linking the three cities to Khartoum, except for the Halfaya and Soba bridges, and announced that the measures came within the framework of ensuring the security and safety of citizens.
The third anniversary of the dispersal of the sit-in comes shortly after Sudan saw an escalation of protests over the Sovereign Council’s decision to remove the civilian component from the transitional authority.
The resistance committees in the state of Khartoum, the youth groups that mobilise the protests, said that they held Friday’s demonstrations to seek accountability and justice, and to call for the handing over to judicial authorities of perpetrators of violence in the 2019 sit-in.
In March, lawyers and activists submitted a memorandum to the International Criminal Court to consider the case of the sit-in dispersal a “crime against humanity.”
Despite the passage of three years, the independent investigation committee formed by the transitional government headed by lawyer Nabil Adeeb are yet to submit its report on the incident. No charges have been brought against suspects.
In a statement on Friday, the troika, which includes America, Britain and Norway, said it stands in solidarity with the survivors and victims of the sit-in dispersal and joins Sudanese in calling for the investigation committee to release a report on the incident.
They urged the military authorities to ensure victims and their families get justice.
The forces currently leading the street protests include the Resistance Committees and the Sudanese Professionals Association.