Sudanese opposition rejects Attorney General’s report on 3 June massacre
July 27, 2019 (KHARTOUM) – The Sudanese opposition Forces for Freedom Change (FFC) rejected the findings of an investigation commission into the brutal attack on the pro-democracy sit-in saying it did not identify those responsible for the raid and did not disclose the true number of victims.
On Saturday, the head of the investigation committee of the Attorney General, Fatteh Al-Rahman Saeed told a news conference that 87 people were killed, and 168 were wounded during an attack carried out by the security forces to disperse a sit-in outside the army headquarters in Khartoum on 3 June.
Saeed, also, denied claims of sexual assaults and rape, burning of bodies during the attack, adding that the cadavers found on the River Nile had no relation to the attack on the sit-in. He added they ordered to open criminal proceedings against seven military officers including a major-general.
In a press conference held after the announcement of the findings, FFC spokesman Ismail Altaj recalled that the Attorney General was consulted by the military council before the attack saying “The Attorney General’s Office is suspected of participating in the June 3 massacre”.
The report “is undoubtedly a shock to the Sudanese street, the regional and international community,” he added pointing that nearly 130 civilians were killing according to the pro-democracy medical group Central Committee for Sudan Doctors.
Regarding the security forces’ responsibility for the human casualties, Altaj who is a former judge stressed on the need to determine all those involved in the operation saying that such a “massacre requires preparations and plans” and cannot be limited to seven people.
The TMC officials repeatedly denied their involvement in the attack but admitted they discussed and ordered to remove roadblocks and barricades from an area not far from the sit-in area. This area called Colombia was allegedly was used for drug dealing.
“This report confirms the dire need to reform the justice institutions in Sudan, including the Office of the Attorney General”, said the FFC spokesman before to conclude that. “The judicial organs are still under the control of the National Congress Party” of ousted President Omer al-Bashir.
POPULAR REJECTION
Sudanese took to the streets of the capital in several neighbourhoods to express their rejection of the report about the attack.
The police used tear gas to disperse protesters who rebuilt the barricades in the streets as they used to do during the months of the uprising.
The opposition Sudanese Congress Party (SCoP) rejected the findings of the inquiry and insisted on the need for an independent investigation.
“As expected, the commission of investigation (…) released a report that was drafted with the sole objective of hiding the facts and burying them in the rubble,” the SCoP said in a statement extended to Sudan Tribune.
The FFC and the TMC agreed to form an independent investigation committee to probe the attack on main protest site but also on the other killings committed after the 11 April 2019.
The military council formed a military committee but it did not release the conclusions of its report.
(ST)