Pro-Democracy Sit-In Crushed by Sudanese Forces, Leaving 30 Dead
Gunmen Storm Sudan's Pro-Democracy Sit-In Leaving Many Wounded
(Bloomberg) -- Sudanese security forces crushed a long-running pro-democracy protest in the capital, reportedly killing at least 30 people and casting doubt on the ruling military’s promise to surrender power to a civilian government.
Gunfire and explosions rocked the site outside army headquarters in Khartoum early Monday as forces assaulted from all directions, witnesses said. Hundreds of people fled the area, where protesters first gathered in early April to urge the military to support their uprising that eventually unseated veteran President Omar al-Bashir.
By midday, the protest site was cleared and surrounded by the Rapid Support Forces, a government militia led by the deputy head of the military council. A doctors’ group affiliated with the demonstration gave the death toll late Monday.
The most serious violence in Khartoum since Bashir was ousted on April 11, it threatens to bolster opposition claims the military isn’t interested in the democratic transition it has pledged within two years.
Military’s Concerns
“Not only do they risk losing their seats in cabinet and general influence over the trajectory of the country; they also risk incurring massive fiscal cuts, having to deal with civilian oversight and -- perhaps most sensitively -- accountability for crimes committed,” said Harry Verhoeven, author of ‘Water, Civilization and Power in Sudan.’ “The surprise is that it took this long for things to escalate and for the men with guns to lose their patience with the pressure from the streets.”
The military council denied it used force against protesters, arguing it was targeting “violators” who’d infiltrated the camp, the pan-Arab al-Hadath satellite channel reported.
The reasoning echoed that of Egyptian authorities when they sought to disperse protest camps organized by the now-outlawed Muslim Brotherhood. That effort in 2013 left hundreds of people dead.
Dozens Wounded
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned “the use of force to disperse the protesters at the sit-in site” in a statement and said he was alarmed by reports that “security forces have opened fire on medical facilities.” Dozens of people were wounded, al-Hadath and other Arab television stations reported.
The U.S. Embassy in Khartoum called for a halt to the crackdown, saying in a statement on Twitter that Sudan’s military rulers were responsible. London-based rights group Amnesty International said countries should consider pressure including targeted sanctions on the members of the transitional authorities responsible for the attack.
“The mask of the military council has fallen, revealing its face,” the Sudanese Professionals Association, a driving force behind months of demonstrations, said when the crackdown began. “The Sudanese people are going to respond with the weapon of peacefulness and resistance to violence.”
The Declaration of Freedom and Change alliance called a general strike in response to the violence, al-Hadath reported.
While Sudan’s military has pledged a transition to democratic rule, talks with the North African nation’s opposition have stalled over representation in a power-sharing government. Authorities have recently described the Khartoum sit-in, marked by a carnival atmosphere, as a threat to public order.
--With assistance from Tarek El-Tablawy, Salma El Wardany and Okech Francis.
To contact the reporter on this story: Mohammed Alamin in Khartoum at malamin1@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: David Malingha at dmalingha@bloomberg.net, Michael Gunn, Karl Maier
©2019 Bloomberg L.P.