Seven killed, 100+ injured in Sudan protest crackdown

Seven demonstrators were shot dead on Monday, during the January 17 March of Millions bound for the Republican Palace in Khartoum. These deaths sparked a call from the Executive Office to the Forces for Freedom and Change (FCC), to launch a comprehensive two-day campaign of civil disobedience starting today, condemning yesterday’s massacre.

Government forces pre-empted the start of the protest processions on the main roads in Khartoum and maintained a heavy presence in the vicinity of the Republican Palace.

The Central Committee of Sudan Doctors reported that seven protesters were killed and more than 100 protestors were injured as military forces fired live ammunition and used tear gas canisters and stun grenades to disperse the demonstrators in Khartoum, Khartoum North (Bahri), and Omdurman.

The Forensic Doctors Association said that there were more than 70 injured in El Jawda Hospital in Ed Deim, south of central Khartoum, including six serious cases.

Demonstrators told Radio Dabanga that tear gas was fired in front of El Jawda Hospital during the transfer of a number of injured people. Witnesses reported an attack by military forces on an ambulance in Mak Nimir bridge, saying that medical staff and a driver were brutally beaten with sticks and rifle butts. They said the military fired shots and used excessive violence against the demonstrations in Khartoum Bahri and El Arbaeen Street in Omdurman, causing casualties.

Government forces were also reported to have launched a massive campaign of raids and detentions in several Khartoum neighbourhoods, with demonstrators being chased, severely beaten, and having their mobile phones confiscated. The military forces pre-empted the start of the processions on the main roads in Khartoum and maintained a heavy presence in the vicinity of the Republican palace.

Civil disobedience

In a statement, the FCC said the coup authorities continued to commit massacres against unarmed people with all manner of aggression, “which demonstrates their criminal brutality and confirms their isolation and soon-to-be resounding fall”.

The statement also called for people to take advantage of the period of civil disobedience to assemble the revolutionary forces, unite them and equip them to fight the decisive battle to overthrow the power of the coup. The Resistance Committees Coordination in Khartoum as well announced a full escalation in street blockades and civil disobedience.

The Resistance Committees also launched their proposed political declaration on Monday, setting out a process aimed at developing a unified national political vision on the various governmental and economic matters impacting the state.

Medics

The vigils organised by medical staff in Kassala, El Geneina, and other cities condemned the targeting of hospitals and attacks on medical staff and considered this a clear violation of international humanitarian law. Medical staff also carried out a one-day strike on cold cases, scheduled surgeries, transfer clinics and full-time treatment of critical cases and the injured. The strike excluded all critical and emergency cases, dialysis treatment, heart-related problems, issues related to women’s health, and inpatients in the wards.

The Unified Doctors Office declared January 17, the Day of the Sudanese Doctor, marking the death of doctor Babikir Abdelhamid.