Sudanese police kill protester

Khartoum, Jun 3 (EFE).- A young man was killed here Friday when Sudanese police fired on protesters marking the third anniversary of the massacre of activists calling for civilian government, the Central Committee of Sudan Doctors (CCSD) said.

Thousands poured onto the streets of Khartoum to demand justice for the victims of the violence that took place on June 3, 2019, outside army headquarters, which left anywhere from 66 – according to the Health Ministry – to 128 people dead.

The fatal shooting took place in the center of the capital, but gunfire was also heard Friday in other parts of Khartoum.

The CCSD said that the latest death brought to 99 the number of fatalities due to repression of protests since last October, when army Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan dissolved the military-civilian Sovereign Council that took charge following the ouster of dictator Omar al-Bashir in April 2019 after 30 years in power.

Those who marched in Khartoum on Friday sang the national anthem and waves Sudanese flags, while smaller groups of militants blocked some streets with barricades and piles of burning tires.

Eyewitnesses told Efe that similar demonstrations took place in neighboring Khartoum North and Omdurman.

Together, the three cities are home to nearly 10 percent of Sudan’s 43.85 million people.

The independent committee created to investigate the June 2019 massacre has yet to issue a report or identify the perpetrators.

The head of the panel, Nabi Adib, told Efe that the committee’s work has been hampered by factors such as the absence of a civilian prime minister in the wake of Abdalla Hamdok’s resignation in January.

Hamdok quit weeks after the military restored him to the position from which they ousted him last October.

Adib said that while he and his colleagues are committed to completing their task and having the killers held accountable, some elements are seeking to undermine the committee and ensure impunity for the perpetrators. EFE

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