Sudan protests leave at least 50 dead as security forces battle activists
Sudanese security forces have killed at least 50 protesters with shots to the head or chest, two rights groups said on Friday, challenging the authorities’ narrative of the worst unrest in Sudan’s central regions for years.
Image/CIA
Sudan’s police, which has cracked down on the protests, said late on Thursday that battles with protesters had killed 29 people, among them police officers. Sudanese opposition activists have put the death toll at over 100.
London-based Amnesty International and the New York-based African Center for Justice and Peace Studies said at least 50 people had been killed by gun shots to the chest or head, citing witnesses, relatives, doctors and journalists.
“Life became unbearable. Citizens’ main concern is survival after the government gave up on its responsibility to provide subsidies,” said Mahdi, of the National Umma Party. “We call for changing the regime.”
He is referring to the lifting of fuel subsidies on Monday which has resulted in thousands of people taking to the streets in Khartoum and central Sudan to protest against corruption and demand veteran President Omar Hassan Bashir step down.
Sudan’s divided and weak opposition has tried several times to bring to Sudan an “Arab spring” unseating rulers in the region but has failed to mobilize masses seen in Egypt or Libya.
Bashir still enjoys support from the army, security apparatus, his ruling party and wealthy Sudanese with extensive business interests.
Among the dead was a 14-year-old boy, while most other victims seemed to be between 19 and 26 years old, the groups said in a statement. Hundreds had been detained, it said.
“Shooting to kill – including by aiming at protesters’ chests and heads – is a blatant violation of the right to life, and Sudan must immediately end this violent repression by its security forces,” said Lucy Freeman, Africa Deputy Director at Amnesty International.
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[…] on marchers, witnesses sayWashington PostSudan security clashes with subsidy protestersLas Vegas SunSudan protests leave at least 50 dead as security forces battle activistsThe Global Dispatchall 124 news […]