Sudanese army spokesperson walks back statements about forceful dispersement of mass sit-in

April 10, 2019 (KHARTOUM) — The spokesperson of the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) Ahmed Khalifa al-Shami, retracted statements in which he said a decision has been made to disperse the mass sit-in by force.

Since last Saturday, thousands of protesters have staged a mass sit-in in front of the SAF headquarters in Khartoum. Some young army officers joined the protesters and called on their colleagues to back the popular uprising against President Omer al-Bashir.

In an interview with the Dubai-based Al-Hadath TV on Tuesday, al-Shami said “the security committee ordered the dispersement of the sit-it because it has undermined the security and produced negative phenomena”.

However, in a statement made on Wednesday, he said all reports about a government plan to disperse the sit-in were mere “misinformation”.

“What happened yesterday was an attempt to keep the protesters away from the security perimeter of the military headquarters” he added

On Monday and Tuesday the military clashed with the security agents to prevent attacks on the peaceful protesters. At least five demonstrators and two army soldiers were reported killed during the clashes.

(ST)