KHARTOUM, June 10, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – One week after dozens died in a
crackdown on Sudanese protesters demanding civilian rule, four people were
killed as security forces moved to quell a civil disobedience campaign
launched Sunday.
The deaths marked almost two months since the April 11 ouster of longtime
ruler Omar al-Bashir, as talks broke down between protest leaders and
military rulers over who should lead a new governing body — a civilian or
soldier.
Protesters set about building roadblocks in Khartoum, while markets and
shops were closed in other towns and cities.
A doctors’ committee linked to the demonstrators said two people had been
killed in clashes in the capital, while two others died in its twin city of
Omdurman, just across the Nile.
The Central Committee for Sudanese Doctors blamed forces supporting the
ruling military council for the deaths, which it said took the overall toll
to 118 since a June 3 crackdown to disperse a sit-in by protesters outside
army headquarters.
The health ministry says 61 people died nationwide in Monday’s crackdown,
49 of them from “live ammunition” in Khartoum.
In the capital’s northern Bahari district, people gathered tyres, tree
trunks and rocks to build new roadblocks as the campaign began early on
Sunday.
But riot police swiftly moved in, firing gunshots in the air and tear gas
at demonstrators before clearing the makeshift barriers, a witness said.
“They opened the way, we closed it again, they opened it, we re-closed it.
It was a game of cat and mouse,” said one protester, a 20-year-old mechanical
engineering student.
The Sudanese Professionals Association, which first launched protests
against Bashir in December, said the campaign would continue until military
rulers transfer power to a civilian government.
In Bahari district, onlookers saw a police truck full of people in civilian
clothing, but it was not possible to confirm whether they were detained
demonstrators.
– Generals blame protesters –
Several residents said they faced difficulties but were still backing the
campaign.
“The roadblocks prevented me from reaching the market to buy vegetables,”
said Hassan Abdelrahim, a vegetable vendor.
“This will impact my income, but when I look at these youngsters who are on
the streets since six months, I’m not angry even if I lose my income.”
The military blamed protesters for the deteriorating situation and vowed to
deploy security forces to restore order.
The ruling military council “regrets the behaviour” of the protest
movement, Lieutenant General Jamaleddine Omar of the military council said in
a statement broadcast on state television Sunday.
“The Military Council has decided to reinforce the presence of armed
forces, RSF and other regular forces to help normal life return.”
Khartoum residents have mostly remained indoors since Monday, when men in
military fatigues raided the protest camp.
Several vehicles of the feared Rapid Support Forces, blamed by witnesses
for the killings at the sit-in, were seen Sunday in various parts of
Khartoum, riding pickup trucks mounted with machineguns.
“Security in Sudan now is worse than during Bashir’s regime,” said leading
journalist Osman Mirghani, adding that the protest movement had become
stronger after the bloodshed on June 3.
“The way the sit-in was dispersed. That bloodshed was a crime. The way the
bodies were tossed in the Nile, no one should get away with such a crime.”
Several airlines have scrapped their Sudan flights since the deadly raid
and passengers were left waiting outside Khartoum airport’s departures
terminal Sunday, although it was unclear whether any flights would take off.
The downtown business district was largely shut and buses were not running
in several areas, but private vehicles were ferrying passengers in some
locations.
In Omdurman, many shops and markets remained closed but people were seen
buying provisions at some grocery stores.
“Troops were also seen removing roadblocks from some streets in Omdurman,”
a witness said. – Markets, bakeries close –
In the central city of Al-Obeid, the main market was shut and several bank
employees did not report to work, residents said.
In the town of Madani, southeast of the capital, people were seen queueing
outside closed bakeries while the main market was also shut.
“I went to three bakeries and have been unable to buy bread,” a Madani
resident told AFP by telephone.
It was the tripling of bread prices that first triggered protests against
Bashir in December, which later turned into a nationwide movement against his
ironfisted rule.
After the president was ousted, demonstrators remained camped out for weeks
in Khartoum to pressure the ruling generals into transferring power.
After several rounds of negotiations between protest leaders and the
military, talks broke down in mid-May.
Witnesses say the subsequent assault on the sit-in was led by the RSF, who
have their origins in the notorious Janjaweed militia, accused of abuses in
the Darfur conflict between 2003 and 2004.
Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed travelled to Sudan on Friday in a bid
to revive negotiations, holding separate meetings with the two sides after
which he called for a “quick” democratic transition.