A fact-finding committee of the Sudanese prosecutor general’s office began investigating the circumstances of the recent deadly dispersal of sit-in protests in Khartoum, a source in the press service of the office said on Thursday.
“A commission of inquiry formed by the prosecutor general of Sudan to investigate the events near the military command headquarters [in Khartoum] began operating and is interrogating several witnesses,” the source said, adding that the investigation will be completed shortly.
On Wednesday, the Sudanese Transitional Military Council (TMC)’s head, Abdel Fattah Abdelrahman Burhan, said it was recommended that the Office of the Prosecutor General conducts an impartial investigation into the armed dispersal of the protesters’ camp in Khartoum, during which the security forces used firearms and killed 14 people.
On Monday, Sudanese security forces attacked a sit-in protest camp near the military headquarters in Khartoum, firing at the protesters and killing 14.
According to the opposition Central Committee of Sudan Doctors, as many as 60 people were killed in the clashes, hundreds were wounded. Protesters have been demanding the military resign and hands power over to civilian rule since 6 April.
On Tuesday, Burhan held a television address in which he announced the termination of negotiations with the opposition. He called for general elections to be held within nine months and announced forming an interim caretaker government to run the country until then.
Long-standing popular protests in Sudan culminated in a military coup on 11 April, when then-President Omar Bashir was overthrown and detained after almost 30 years in power.
The TMC took over and pledged to organize new presidential elections within two years. Protesters have remained in the streets demanding that the military yield power to a civilian authority.