Sudan uprising: Protestor dies, another attempt to remove Khartoum sit-in

The Sudanese Doctors Central Committee announced the death of another demonstrator on Friday. The Alliance of Freedom and Change reported a renewed attempt by militia forces to remove barricades near the sit-in in Khartoum. People in Ed Damazin in Blue Nile state continue their support to the protests, despite the removal of their road blocks on Wednesday.

On Thursday evening, Ahmed Kheirallah (28) succumbed to his wounds sustained during a demonstration in Khartoum on April 7.

The Sudanese Doctors Committee said in a statement on Friday, that Kheirallah was hit by three bullets, two in the abdomen and the third in the spine, which required surgical intervention. His condition remained weak until he died.

This brings the number of people killed during anti-government protests in Khartoum since mid-December, on 59.

On April 26, Dr Babikir Mohamed Ali, Director-General of the Ministry of Health in Khartoum state, reported that 53 people were killed and 7,343 were wounded during the past four months.

Last week, another five people were fatally injured during attempts by militiamen, reportedly members of the Rapid Support Forces, the country's main militia, to remove barricades near the sit-in in front of the General Command of the Sudanese army in the country’s capital.

Barricades

On Friday, armed men in military uniforms again attempted to clear the road blocks surrounding the sit-in in Khartoum.

The protesters formed a wall with their bodies to prevent the removal of the barricades.

In a statement later on Friday, the Alliance for Freedom and Change (AFC, a coalition of opposition groups) said that “Certain parties have renewed their attempts to tear down the barricades.”

The coalition called on the Sudanese to join the sit-in to protect the protest and its participants.

The AFC further warned the forces of the military junta against “harming any protester or any encroaching on the sit-in area,” the statement read. “We hold the Transitional Military Council entirely responsible for the protesters’ safety.”

On Monday and Wednesday, members of an unknown militia, said to be the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), Sudan's main government militia, violently attempted to dismantle the barricades placed by the protesters to protect the sit-in area in front of the military command. The EU, the USA, the UN Independent Expert on the situation of human rights in Sudan, and Sudanese and international civil society organisations have called for constraint.

Removed

Demonstrators in Ed Damazin, capital of Blue Nile state, have continued their sit-in in front of the army command in the town for the fifth week.

“On Wednesday, all barricades set up by protesters around the army garrison in Ed Damazin were removed by government forces. Abdelaziz Soreiba, AFC leader in Ed Damazin, told Radio Dabanga.

“They succeeded here in what they couldn’t do in Khartoum,” he said, pointing to the 72-hour ultimatum set by the military junta to remove all barricades at the various sit-ins in the country.

“They did this to cut the way for the military junta and confirm its [the military] keenness to rule the country”, he commented.

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