CAIRO -- Saturday's U.N. human rights official condemned the ongoing crackdown against pro-democracy protesters from Sudan. The country has been in turmoil since a military coup six months ago.
Adama Dieng (UN expert on Sudan human rights) urged the military to take more bold and concrete steps following the lifting on May 29 of the nationwide emergency that had been in effect since Oct. 25, when the military took control.
He demanded the release of all persons under the emergency, and the end of excessive force and arrests for anti-coup protesters.
Since the coup, Sudan has been politically paralyzed with almost daily street protests. Pro-democracy protesters were targeted by the authorities who launched a massive crackdown. To stop people gathering, they fired tear gas and live ammunition at protestors and shut down the internet and mobile signal in the country.
According to the U.N., at least 99 people were killed in anti-coup protests.
According to the Sudan Doctors Committee which is part the pro-democracy movement, one protester was killed in violence against demonstrations in Khartoum's capital. Since the coup, more than 4,400 people have been injured.
"Another young man, whose family is in mourning today. Dieng stated that the murder must be investigated immediately and that the perpetrator should be prosecuted.
As he was wrapping up his second trip to Sudan since November, when he was appointed to monitor the situation in Sudan's human rights after the coup, Dieng made these comments. Dieng was a U.N. Special Advisor on the Prevention of Genocide and an Investigator for the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda.
Friday's protests commemorated the third anniversary of June 3, 2019, the tragic breakup of a major protest camp located outside Khartoum's military headquarters and other Sudanese locations.
The crackdown saw at least 128 protestors killed. It also included what activists described as a campaign to rape and commit sexual misconduct by troops sent by the military to crush pro-democracy movements.
The dispersal marked a pivotal moment in the ties between the generals, the movement, and was the catalyst for the uprising that saw Omar al-Bashir, a long-serving military leader, be ousted in April 2019.
