A Sudanese health ministry official has disputed that more than 100 people were killed in fresh clashes between security forces and the opposition this week, claiming the death toll was instead under 50.
Medics linked to the opposition said Monday’s raid on a protest camp in the capital of Khartoum resulted in 108 deaths, adding that the bodies of 40 people killed had been pulled out of the river Nile.
But Soliman Abdel Gaber, who works for the military-controlled health ministry, disputed this figure and said 46 people had died.
Crackdown
Monday’s crackdown, which has been condemned internationally, began when forces violently dispersed the protest movement’s main camp, which is located outside the military headquarters in Khartoum.
It marks the latest clashes between security forces and pro-democracy protesters in Sudan.
There has been violent disagreement over who should lead Sudan’s transition to democracy after the army ousted President Omar al-Bashir in April, following months of protests against his 30-year rule.
Before Monday, the ruling military council and protest leaders had been negotiating a transitional council that would run Sudan until elections. Generals objected to protesters’ demands that civilians dominate the council.
Protests likely to continue
Pro-democracy leaders, who say the military cannot be trusted, have vowed to continue protesting until the council is ousted and power is handed over to a civilian authority. They have rejected new offers of negotiations with the military council.
The Sudan Doctors Committee, one of the protest groups, said it was not known where the bodies pulled out of the Nile were taken. The committee also said more than 500 people have been wounded in the crackdown.
The Sudanese Professionals Association, which was behind months of protest that drove Mr al-Bashir from power, asked people to block main roads and bridges to “paralyse public life” across the country in retaliation for the military’s crackdown.
“Our success depends on our full adherence to peaceful protests, no matter how hard the criminal militias seek to drag us into violence,” the association said on Facebook on Thursday.
World condemns raid
Since Monday’s raid in Khartoum, protest leaders said violent clashes had erupted in other parts of the country.
The United States, Norway and Britain have issued a joint statement condemning the Sudanese security forces for their violent attacks on protesters.
The statement said Sudan‘s ruling military council “has put the transition process and peace in Sudan in jeopardy”.
Additional reporting by AP and Reuters
