Thousands of Sudanese went to the Khartoum streets on Thursday, raising their demands for justice for demonstrators slain two years ago as a result of the repression of anti-government demonstrations.
The event is being held on the second anniversary of the brutal dispersal of a protest camp outside the military’s headquarters in Khartoum, which led to the ouster of Omar al-Bashir in April 2019.
“We came here to commemorate the sit-in massacre and to demonstrate that people continue to suffer even after Bashir’s ouster,” said Eman Babiker, 24, who complained about widespread unemployment.
The demonstrators marched to the Cabinet Building and the Public Prosecutor’s Office, with banners demanding justice, some singing the national hymn, a correspondent from the AFP stated.
“We want to send the administration a message that if the slain are not brought to justice, we can move to the streets,” demonstrator Walid Shazli told AFP.
The Sudanese authorities, prior to the protests on Thursday, had shut down the key highways leading to Khartoum Army Headquarters and asked protesters to stay away.
The government stated in a statement that it had meetings with the security apparatus to expedite justice for victims.
The Ministry of the Interior stated that the police had made every “effort to ensure demonstrators’ safety as well as strategic and essential facilities.”
In May, during the Holy Month of Ramadan, a similar protest was held in Khartoum to mark the sit-in dispersal anniversary.
This demonstration was dispersed by security forces and two people were killed and dozens wounded.
The Sudanese army later announced it provided a list of military staff suspected of participation in the new murders to prosecutors.
In Khartoum, the 2019 protest camp first called for an end to Bashir’s authority but remained a transition to civil rule for weeks after his resignation.
In June 2019 and around the end of Ramadan, the camp was forcibly dispersed by armed individuals in military fatigue.
According to medics associated with the protest movement, 128 people died in the day-long repression.
The governing generals then denied ordering the bloody dispersion and asked for a probe into the incident.
An investigating committee was set up in late 2019 to examine the occurrences, but its probe still needs to be completed.
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