Sudan Military Council Says Perpetrators of Crackdown IDd

  • 6/20/2019
  • 00:00
  • 6
  • 0
  • 0
news-picture

The deputy chief of Sudans ruling military council said Thursday the military has identified the perpetrators of the violent dispersal of a pro-democracy sit-in earlier this month, but said he wont reveal their identities because of an ongoing investigation. Sudans security forces violently swept away a camp of demonstrators in the capital of Khartoum on June 3. They had been holding a sit-in to pressure the military council to hand power over to civilians. At least 128 people have been killed and hundreds wounded during the break-up and since then, according to protesters. However, authorities say only 61 have died, including three security forces. On Thursday, Gen. Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, better known by his nickname Hamedti, said he wont reveal the identities of the "perpetrators" so as not to influence an ongoing military investigation. Dagalo warned of impostor troops among the Rapid Support Forces, who protesters blame for the bulk of the killings. Dagalo, who leads the RSF, said the military had arrested dozens of people wearing RSF uniforms and committing violations. On Wednesday alone, nine impostors were arrested, he said. "Anyone who had crossed his limits whether they are from the military or civilians, I swear to God, will stand trial," said Dagalo in an address to a military-backed womens rally in Khartoum. He did not release any other details from the military investigation. The Transitional Military Council took over the country after massive protests drove president Omar al-Bashir from power in April. Negotiations with protesters reached a deadlock following the clampdown on their sit-in. Last week, the spokesman for the military council, Gen. Shams Eddin Kabashi, acknowledged that the military had committed violations while dispersing the sit-in and that an investigation was underway. The crackdown elicited a storm of international criticism of the ruling council and culminated in the suspension of Sudan from the African Union. Meanwhile, hundreds of Sudanese demonstrated in state capitals on Thursday, putting pressure on the council to cede power to civilians. There were gatherings in each of the state capitals of Wad Madani, Al-Ubayyid and Port Sudan to call for the council to relinquish power. Dozens also demonstrated in the national capital Khartoum, including employees from the private Bank of Khartoum, chanting "Civilian!" and waving Sudanese flags. The council named Abdullah Ahmed Abdullah as public prosecutor, judicial sources told Reuters on Thursday. Abdullah had recently been appointed prosecutor for Khartoum, a role in which he was overseeing the probe into the storming of the sit-in, state news agency SUNA said.

مشاركة :