US embassy in Khartoum blames army council for deaths

KHARTOUM

The U.S. embassy in Khartoum on Tuesday held Sudan’s ruling Military Transitional Council (MTC) responsible for the deaths of six protesters who were killed in the capital one day earlier.

“The tragic attacks on protesters yesterday [Monday] that led to the deaths of at least six Sudanese… were clearly the result of the MTC trying to impose its will on the protesters by attempting to remove roadblocks,” the embassy said in a statement.

“The decision for security forces to escalate the use of force, including the unnecessary use of teargas, led directly to the unacceptable violence later in the day that the MTC was unable to control,” it added.

The families of the victims, the embassy added, “demand a full accounting of what happened to their loved ones”.

On Monday, six protesters were shot dead near an ongoing sit-in protest outside army headquarters in Khartoum.

The circumstances of the protesters’ deaths, however, remain unclear amid conflicting reports over the identity of the attackers.

The embassy went on to assert that the MTC and the Freedom and Change coalition, which is leading calls for a civilian government, “should not allow yesterday’s events to prevent them from building on yesterday's progress to rapidly conclude negotiations to establish a civilian-led transitional government”.

On Monday, the MTC announced that it had reached an agreement with the Freedom and Change coalition on the “structures of governance during the transitional period”.

In its Tuesday statement, the U.S. embassy said: “We encourage the people of Sudan to continue to express their desire for a peaceful and democratic Sudan in a non-violent manner and to not be provoked by the actions of those who oppose change.”

Early last month, the Sudanese army ousted President Omar al-Bashir following months of popular demonstrations against his 30-year rule.

The MTC is now overseeing a two-year “transitional period” during which it has pledged to hold free presidential elections.

But the opposition, led by Freedom and Change, has continued to demand that the military council hand over power -- at the earliest possible date -- to a civilian authority.