More than 70 injured in Khartoum demos, young Sudanese ‘shaved’ again

At least 74 protesters were wounded during anti-junta Marches of the Millions in Khartoum organised by the resistance committees on Tuesday. A day earlier, government forces assaulted young people in the city and forcibly shaved their heads. An officer of the Rapid Support Forces convicted for killing a protester has been released.

In Khartoum, demonstrations started from Bashdar and Abu Hamama south of the centre, and headed toward the Republican Palace along the Blue Nile in central Khartoum.

The protesters chanted slogans calling for the overthrow of the October 2021 putschists and for a civilian government.

When they approached El Gasr Street, leading to the palace, police forces fired tear gas canisters extensively to prevent them from entering the street. This turned into a hit-and-run between the demonstrators and the police.

Many protesters were detained, sources said.

The Central Committee of Sudan Doctors (CCSD) reported this early morning that 74 people were injured during the protest marches yesterday, 70 in Khartoum and four in Omdurman. Injured who were treated by fields teams have not been counted.

A minor was wounded when he was run-over by “a vehicle belonging to the regular forces”, 18 others sustained injuries when the police fired tear gas canisters at them, one was hit by rubber bullets, and the others were injured “as a result of stone-throwing, beating, and the use of excessive tear gas”.

The CCSD reported yesterday that five people were wounded during street protests on Monday. One of them sustained “a fracture of the skull when he was hit by a tear gas canister. Two were hit by rubber bullets, and two others were injured during the stampede”.

During a UN Security Council meeting on Sudan yesterday, Volker Perthes, the UN Special Representative for Sudan and head of the UN Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan (UNITAMS) briefed the council members on the situation in the country. The members expressed their concern about the authorities' use of excessive force in confronting the demonstrators, called for an immediate cessation of the violence and perpetrators of human rights abuses to be held accountable.

‘Systematic campaign’

Joint forces of the Sudanese army, security police, and the paramilitary Central Reserve Police (popularly known as Abu Teira) on Monday launched a violent campaign against young people in Khartoum.They seized them from buses and other vehicles, beat them, shaved their hair, and robbed them of their belongings.

Emergency Lawyers said in a press statement the same day that “this systematic campaign primarily targeted young people”.

Emergency lawyer Ghada Abbas told Radio Dabanga’s Sudan Today that “the campaign aims to break the resolve of young people through these grave, humiliating and degrading violation of human dignity”.

She called on all the victims of human rights violations to report their case to the Emergency Lawyers so that it will be documented.

In the end of August, Radio Dabanga reported about a similar campaign in Khartoum North. Social media activists said that the practice is similar to what the now dissolved Public Order Police used to do, claiming to “maintain appearance in public places”.

Sentenced officer released

The family of Hanafi Abdelshakour, who was killed during the brutal attacks on the sit-in in front of the army command in Khartoum on the June 3, 2019 (which became known as the June 3 Massacre) expressed their shock when they heard that the Sudan High Court instructed the release of an officer of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) who was convicted of killing their son.

In May last year, a Khartoum court sentenced RSF Major Yousef Mohyieldin, to death by hanging after finding him guilty of premeditated murder. The Court of Appeal upheld the sentence.

The family holds the judiciary responsible for “the convict's escape from justice” and demanded the acquittal documents be handed over so that they will be able to appeal the decision.

Photographer acquitted

The North Khartoum Court on Tuesday dismissed the charges against photojournalist Ibrahim Nugdallah and ordered the authorities to return his cameras to him, due to the absence of the complainant.

Military Intelligence detained Nugdallah while he was covering pro-democracy demonstrations in the Sudanese capital on July 17, confiscated his equipment and questioned him before referring him to the Khartoum North Police Department, where he was charged with public disturbance, disturbing public safety and photographing military areas.