Khartoum Wali, doctors condemn police for ‘excessive force’ against protestors

The Sudan Doctors Central Committee has confirmed that the use by police of rubber bullets and batons during the violent dispersal of peaceful popular demonstration in Khartoum yesterday, led to a number of direct injuries and others as a result of tear gas inhalation, as a number of demonstrators were transported to hospitals.

The committee condemned in a statement yesterday the police forces’ use of tear gas and batons against “peaceful revolutionaries” in front of the Council of Ministers in a way that recalled the era of the defunct regime. “If these revolutionaries had not stood up against the former regime, this government would not have existed.”

The beatings and arrests must be dealt with immediately, the committee demanded.

The Ministry of Interior Affairs said in a statement yesterday evening that the police intervened when groups of demonstrators attempted to storm the Council of Ministers.

In response to this, the police command decided to use tear gas, “based on assessments of the situation, which led to various injuries among demonstrators as well as police”.

According to the statement, “the police only implemented the law and performed its duty aimed at extending security, protecting lives and property, extending the Rule of Law, and preventing further escalations”.

The General Intelligence Service (GIS) denied that security officers were involved in arresting demonstrators in Khartoum yesterday, as was reported in social media.

In a statement yesterday evening the GIS strongly denied these “rumours” and affirmed the agency’s strict commitment to its tasks stipulated in the 2019 Constitutional Charter.

‘The force used against the demonstrators was excessive and contradicts our approach in the era of freedom, peace and justice’ – Governor of Khartoum, Ayman Khalid

The Governor of Khartoum, Ayman Khalid, expressed his deep regret over the events that took place yesterday. The force used against the demonstrators “was excessive and contradicts our approach in the era of freedom, peace and justice,” the governor said in a press statement yesterday evening.

“We will deal with any violation that occurred during the day seriously and decisively,” he stated. “I request the Attorney General to investigate the incidents in front of the Council of Ministers, and determine responsibility in order to achieve the principles of justice and accountability.”

The Association of Families of the December Revolution, the Sudanese Women Union, the Socialist Doctors Association, the Sudanese Professionals Association, and the Khartoum Resistance Committee Coordination all strongly condemned the violent suppression of peaceful demonstrators in the March of the Millions in Khartoum yesterday.

They warned that these “repressive measures and dictatorial methods will take us back to the era of the former regime”, and declared their adherence to the principles of the revolution.

El Gezira, River Nile

In addition to Khartoum, thousands of people took to the streets in El Gezira and River Nile states in the Marches of Millions under the slogan ‘Settling the Accounts’ called for by the Resistance Committees in the country. They demand the return of the principles of the revolution (see Radio Dabanga report of today).