Sudan’s Army Rejects Human Rights Watch Report on Crackdwon

Arab World

November 23rd, 6:26am

Khartoum – Mohammed Amin Yassin

FILE PHOTO: Sudanese demonstrators burn tyres as they participate in anti-government protests in Omdurman, Khartoum, Sudan January 20, 2019. REUTERS/Mohamed Nureldin Abdallah/File Photo

The Sudanese army described a Human Rights Watch report on the deadly crackdown by security forces against pro-democracy demonstrators last June as unprofessional and biased. In a statement issued Friday, the army said the report by the New York-based group came at a time of political consensus and a transition in the country and hinted to the involvement of some figures from the transitional Sovereign Council in the crackdown. The report contravenes the legal principle not to influence the independent committee tasked with probing the violence, it said. Human Rights Watch said that the crackdown may have amounted to a crime against humanity. It urged Sudan’s transitional government to carry out an “independent and transparent” investigation into the events. The report said members of the RSF led by Mohamed Hamdan "Hemedti" Dagalo, who is now a member of the Sovereign Council, opened fire on unarmed civilians, leaving many of them instantly dead. Nabil Adib, the head of the committee tasked with probing the crackdown, has denied that the HRW report would have any impact on his team’s work. He stressed that the committee is keen on being transparent. More than 100 people were killed and hundreds injured in the violent dispersal of the sit-in in Khartoum on June 3.

from Asharq AL-awsat https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/2004596/sudan%E2%80%99s-army-rejects-human-rights-watch-report-crackdwon