Brutal crackdown in Sudan by the state apparatus kills at least 30 protestors
Noriko Watanabe and Lee Jay Walker
Modern Tokyo Times
America and the United Kingdom – and other nations – have condemned the brutal crackdown by the military of Sudan against protestors in Khartoum. Reports are currently stating that at least 30 people have been killed by the state apparatus. Sadly, this figure may increase further and also trigger more potent protests in Sudan.
Hopes of a peaceful transition to democracy were bound to draw alarm bells in Sudan and the same applies to nations like Saudi Arabia that backs this nation. Hence, tensions will further increase between the movement for democracy and the Transitional Military Council (TMC) that took over power after the ousting of President Omar al-Bashir.
According to political activists in Khartoum, the military surrounded a hospital and fired on another hospital in the capital of this country. Then brutality was unleashed against protestors and people in the same vicinity.
The BBC reports, “The Central Committee of Sudanese Doctors, which is close to the protesters, said 30 people – including an eight-year-old child – had been killed, and that the toll was likely to rise as not all casualties had been accounted for.”
It is being reported that the Rapid Support Forces (former Janjaweed militia that butchered in Darfur and other parts of Sudan under al-Bashir) was behind the massacre. However, this is still unconfirmed but some individuals who witnessed the military unit surrounding the area claim that it was the Rapid Support Forces. If so, it remains to be seen if this will cause divisions inside the TMC?
Similarly, the United States Assistant Secretary of State for Africa, Tibor Nagy, also condemned the Rapid Support Forces. This spokesperson for America stipulated, “This was a brutal and coordinated attack, led by the Rapid Support Forces militia, that mirrors some of the worst offenses of the Bashir regime”
The next few days will remain very tense in Khartoum and in other parts of Sudan. Hence, either the TMC will take action against the perpetrators and seek greater accommodation with democratic forces – or, future mistrust and violence will grow because the remnants of al-Bashir are still controlling power.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-48503408
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