Demonstrators gather at the Green Square in Sudan's capital Khartoum on
July 18, 2019 to commemorate those who lost their lives in the
anti-regime protests. Five demonstrators including students were shot
dead at a rally on July 29, 2019. PHOTO | FILE | AGENCIES
Khartoum,
Five
demonstrators including students were shot dead at a rally in Sudan
Monday, a day before protest leaders and ruling generals meet to resolve
the remaining issues concerning the forming of a civilian
administration.
The two sides have
already signed a power-sharing deal that aims to set up a joint
civilian-military ruling body which in turn would install civilian rule.
That
is the main demand of a nationwide protest movement that led to the
April ouster of long-time leader Omar al-Bashir and has since demanded
that the military council which took his place cede power to civilians.
SHOT DEAD
But
ahead of the talks, five protesters were killed on Monday, including
four students, in the central town of Al-Obeid, the capital of North
Kordofan state, a doctors committee linked to the protest movement said
in a statement.
"Five martyrs succumbed to direct wounds from sniper bullets during a peaceful rally in Al-Obeid," the committee said.
A
key protest group, the Sudanese Professionals Association, said that
"live ammunition" had been used against what it said was a student
rally.
"We are calling on all
citizens and medics to go to the emergency ward of Al-Obeid hospital and
other hospitals that are receiving the wounded from the live ammunition
fired on the rally of school students," the group said on its Facebook
page.
The reason for the rally was
not immediately clear, but Al-Obeid had not witnessed any major
anti-Bashir protests during the months-long campaign that erupted in
December.
Demonstrators have been
rallying again in Khartoum since Saturday, when an investigation found
that security officers, including some from the feared Rapid Support
Forces, carried out a deadly crackdown on a protest camp without any
orders from their superiors.
Shortly
before dawn on June 3, gunmen in military fatigues raided the site of
the weeks-long sit-in outside the military headquarters in Khartoum,
shooting and beating protesters.
Doctors linked to the protest movement say the raid left 127 people dead and scores wounded.
INVESTIGATIONS
But
the joint investigation by prosecutors and the ruling military council
that took power following Bashir's ouster found that just 17 people were
killed on June 3, with a total of 87 dying between that day and June
10.
The probe identified eight
officers involved in the violent crackdown on the protest camp,
including a general, a colonel and a captain from the Rapid Support
Forces.
The eight officers face charges of crimes against humanity, chief investigator Fatah al-Rahman Saeed told reporters on Saturday.
But
protest leaders have rejected the findings, saying the inquiry
exonerated the military council and gave a far lower death toll than
their own figures.
Saeed's
investigation "was commissioned by the military council, this is
challenging its integrity as the military council itself is accused in
this case," said the Sudanese Professionals Association, which
spearheaded the initial protests against Bashir.
Angry demonstrators have staged rallies against the probe, calling for an independent investigation into the raid.
On
Sunday, scores of protesters chanting the months-long protest
movement's catchcry of "Freedom, peace, justice!" rallied in Khartoum's
eastern Burri district, witnesses said, adding that riot police swiftly
dispersed the crowd with tear gas.
The country's ruling generals have insisted they did not order the dispersal of the sit-in.
Protest
leaders say Tuesday's talks will cover issues including the powers of
the joint civilian-military ruling body, the deployment of security
forces and immunity for generals over protest-related violence.
The
power-sharing deal already agreed on July 17 provides for the
establishment of a new governing body of six civilians and five
generals.
It will then oversee the
formation of a transitional civilian government and parliament to govern
for 39 months, after which elections will be held.
No comments :
Post a Comment