Marches for peace and missing demonstrators all over Sudan

Several marches were held yesterday, not only in Khartoum, but also in El Fasher and Northern State. The protestors demanded peace, disarmament, an end to the use of cyanide in gold mining, a return to their land and respect for the bodies of protestors that were killed and went missing during the June 3 massacre.

Activists in Khartoum organised on a march to the Ministry of Health to condemn the way in which the Department of Forensic Medicine and hospital mortuaries dealt with the bodies of those who went missing during the June 3 massacre in front of the Khartoum army command.

Participants in the vigil handed a memorandum to the Department of Forensic Medicine condemning the appearance of bodies of missing demonstrators four months after June 3.

The memorandum called on the Department of Forensic Medicine to provide clarification on the reasons for concealing the bodies and at the same time providing humiliating information to the families of the missing.

Earlier this week, Sudan’s acting Attorney-General instructed the formation of a committee of inquiry into the burial of three unidentified bodies of protestors last week.

Peace

Also in Khartoum, hundreds of people took to the streets to demand that peace be given top priority. The march, organised by the Peace Initiative, moved from the Jakson central bus station towards the Presidential Palace. The authorities ordered the closure of roads leading to the palace to prevent the march from reaching the palace.

The participants chanted "Where is Peace? Bring Peace", and called for addressing the root causes of the wars.

North Darfur

In North Darfur’s capital El Fasher, displaced people staged a protest in front of the North Darfur government secretariat, demanding disarmament of people illegally carrying arms, an end to the use of cyanide by gold mining companies, and the removal of settlers, most of them reportedly from Chad and Niger, from their lands. They also called for support to be able to return to their villages of origin.

Northern State

In Northern State, the residents of the administrative unit of El Debba organised a protest against projects of investor Suleiman El Rajhi. Participants held banners calling for a transparent review of the contracts signed with El Rajhi. They consider the project as an attempt to displace the people of the area.

They stated that they had prepared a memorandum with their demands to submit to the chairman of the Sovereign Council and the cabinet.

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