Demonstrations in Khartoum calling for the trial of the “killers of the demonstrators” and Washington and Khartoum agree to form a government of competencies in Sudan | Politics news

Thousands of Sudanese participated in new demonstrations under the name “Loyalty to the Martyr” to demand full, democratic civilian rule in the country, at a time when the Transitional Sovereignty Council agreed with an American delegation to form a government of competencies and hold elections in Sudan.

The demonstrators gathered in the neighborhoods of Berri, Al-Manshiyya, Riyadh, Taif, Al-Jarif, Soba, Al-Mujahideen and Al-Mamoura, before heading to the main point of the demonstration on Sixty Street, the largest street in the capital.

They chanted slogans denouncing the survival of the military component in power, and calling for accountability for those “involved” in the killing and wounding of protesters during the demonstrations rejecting the measures taken by the army chief, head of the Sovereign Council, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, on October 25.

The demonstrators also raised banners reading “A complete civil state, the people are stronger and apostasy is impossible, freedom… peace… justice, yes to democratic civil rule,” according to eyewitnesses.

Khartoum | Sixty Street
In the million martyrs in #million january 20
Long live the resistance.. long live the revolution!
Long live the resistance.. long live the revolution!
January 20, 2022 AD#Tetris_National_Roads #comprehensive_civil_disobedience#No_Negotiation_No_Illegal_Partnership pic.twitter.com/EyH0uVn32L

– Eltayeb Elmosharaf (lElmosharaf_E) January 20, 2022

Earlier, the forces of the “Declaration of Freedom and Change” (formerly the ruling coalition) published – through its Facebook account – pictures that it said were protests carried out by employees of “Petro Energy, Bapco” and the “Al-Jili” refinery, north of Khartoum, in rejection of violations against peaceful demonstrators, and in support of the transition. Democratic Civil.

A group of judges also carried out a protest sit-in, in front of the headquarters of the judiciary in Khartoum, to reject the violations against peaceful demonstrators, and to demand full civilian rule, according to the Anatolia correspondent.

Political forces and activists called for demonstrations today, in a new round of protests under the slogan “Loyalty to the Martyrs” in the wake of the killing of a demonstrator in Omdurman yesterday, coinciding with the arrival of two American envoys and holding talks in Khartoum.

The “Coordination of the Khartoum Resistance Committees East” (a gathering of activists in the protests) said – in a statement – that the continuation of the mass, peaceful revolutionary action constitutes a real guarantor for the overthrow of the coup and its allies.

This is the first call for demonstrations after another that took place last Monday, which resulted in 7 deaths and 167 injuries, including 52 with live bullets, according to the (non-governmental) Sudan Doctors Committee, which prompted General Al-Burhan the day before yesterday to issue a decision to form a fact-finding committee in these events.

The deaths sparked protests, civil disobedience and new roadblocks this week.

📽️| March of loyatly to the martyrs at Siteen Street intersection with Al Shargi – East Khartoum Resistance Committees Coordination#Jan20March | #million january 20#SudanCoup | #Impossible_Apostasy pic.twitter.com/tHwdrBY6Mq

— Resistance Committees (@ResistCommittee) January 20, 2022

The judges’ anger

In a related context, dozens of judges and prosecutors condemned the killing of more than 70 protesters since the army seized power in October, and called for investigations to be opened.

A statement signed by 55 judges addressed to the head of the judiciary said, “The military authorities practiced the most heinous types of violations against unarmed protesters, foremost of which is extrajudicial killings.”

He urged judges to end the violence and open a criminal investigation to ensure that the killers of protesters did not go unpunished.

It is unusual for judges and prosecutors to issue public statements about the practices of the security forces.

Separately, more than 100 prosecutors announced that they would stop working from today in support of their call for security forces to stop violence and lift the state of emergency. They emphasized their opposition to a newly adopted emergency measure that would give the security forces greater immunity and powers.

These prosecutors indicated that they were unable to carry out their duty to accompany the police to protests to determine the acceptable level of force.

Another group, comprising 48 prosecutors, called for investigations into alleged violations of protesters’ rights, and for them to monitor the protests.

new deal

Politically, a statement issued by the Transitional Sovereignty Council said today that it had agreed with an American delegation to make amendments to the constitutional document to keep pace with the current developments in the country.

The statement added that the meeting also resulted in an agreement to form an independent government of national competencies led by a civilian prime minister to complete the tasks of the transitional period, and to hold free and fair elections at the end of the transitional period, in addition to the Sudanese parties entering into a comprehensive national dialogue to end the crisis.

The army chief had met today with an American delegation headed by “Molly V”, Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, and the membership of the new US envoy for the Horn of Africa, David Satterfield, and Chargé d’Affairs in Khartoum, Brian Shawkan.

The Sudanese News Agency said that a member of the Sovereign Council, Hadi Idris, called on the US delegation to support the peace process in order to achieve democracy and stability in the country.

For its part, the US embassy said, in a press statement, that the country’s delegation expressed its deep concern about disrupting the democratic transition in Sudan.

The statement added that the delegation strongly condemned the use of disproportionate force against the demonstrators, and demanded a transparent investigation into the deaths and injuries that occurred in the demonstrations.

He stressed that the United States will not resume stalled assistance to the Sudanese government without stopping violence and restoring a civilian-led government.

The leader of the “Freedom and Change” forces, Khaled Omar Youssef, had said that he had met with the American delegation at the embassy in Khartoum to discuss developments in the country.

This leader added – in a post on Facebook – that he explained what he described as the crimes of the coup authority against the peaceful popular movement.

He stressed that the only way out of the crisis is to end the revolutionary situation and establish a constitutional framework based on full civil authority, and comprehensive measures of justice that unequivocally do justice to the victims, as he put it.

In turn, European Commission member Stella Kyriakdes said that the European Union calls on the military authorities in Sudan to stop targeting protesters and using violence against them.

During a session to discuss a draft European Parliament resolution on the Sudanese crisis, Kyriakdes called on the military authorities to do what they can to reduce tensions and put an end to the loss of life.

Sudan has been ignited, since October 25, by protests rejecting exceptional measures imposed by the army chief, most notably the declaration of a state of emergency and the dissolution of the Sovereignty Councils and the Transitional Ministers.

Those who reject these measures accuse Al-Burhan of overthrowing a transitional phase that began on August 21, 2019, and was supposed to end with elections in early 2024, during which power will be shared by the army, civilian forces and armed movements that signed a peace agreement with the government in 2020.

On more than one occasion, Al-Burhan denied the army’s “military coup” and considered that what happened was a “correction of the course of the transitional phase,” vowing to hand over power to a transitional government.