Khartoum massacre demo dispersed, hospital director arrested

The police violently dispersed a demonstration in Omdurman on Saturday to commemorate the first anniversary of the Khartoum sit-in massacre. The medical director of El Tijani El Mahi Hospital was beaten and arrested when he protested against the excessive use of tear gas.

The Sudan Doctors Central Committee condemned the arrest of the medical director, who has been taken to Omdurman Central Police Station.

The doctors committee reported that the medical director protested against the excessive use of tear gas used by the police to disperse the demonstrators in the vicinity of the hospital. This forced the hospital’s Emergency Department to close and the Women's Ward had to be evacuated.

The doctors described the police attack as “barbaric”. They demand that the police commander that ordered the use of tear gas and the arrest of the medical director will be held accountable.

The demonstrators commemorated the violent dismantling of the sit-in in front of the army command on June 3, 2019, which cost 127 demonstrators their lives. Hundreds of young protestors demonstrated in Khartoum two months ago, demanding a final report from the Committee of Inquiry into the violent dismantling of the Khartoum sit-in. This Committee of Inquiry started its work in December 2019.

Doctor’s strike cancelled

The medical director was arrested hours after a doctors' strike was cancelled because the Minister of Health committed himself to passing a law to protect medical personnel.

The Ministry of Justice is drafting this law. The Sovereign Council and the Cabinet are to approve the law after the Eid El Fitir holiday.

Health Minister Akram El Tom denounced the repeated attacks on medical personnel. He called the attacks “a feature of the former regime and of dictatorial regimes”.

Red Sea state

The authorities in the Red Sea state arrested 13 members of the resistance committees active in the neighbourhoods in southern Port Sudan because they organised a protest in front of the government secretariat. The demonstrators protested against the price of bread, and commemorated the violent dismantling of the sit-in in front of the army command last year.

The resistance committees said in a statement that the authorities arrested its members “without justification”. They have been released on bail.

The resistance committees questioned the integrity of the state's police forces, accusing them of “intransigence and abuse of the law”. They expressed surprise at the complacency of the police regarding gatherings of affiliates of the former regime.

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