EU calls for independent probe into deaths, violence in Sudan

KHARTOUM, Sudan

The Delegation of the European Union to Sudan on Friday called for an independent investigation into the deaths and violence that occurred during countrywide protests since last year's military coup.

“The EU reiterates the need for independent investigations into all deaths and associated violence, and call for the perpetrators to be held accountable,” the delegation said in a statement.

“Attacks on hospitals, detentions of activists and journalists, and communication blackouts, must also stop,” it added.

Sudan’s Doctors Committee reported the killing of three protesters in Khartoum on Thursday, bringing the total number of deaths to 60 since rallies for "civilian rule" began.

Resistance committees have issued a public call to hold a new round of demonstrations in the capital and other cities to demand full civilian rule.

Sudan has been in turmoil since Oct. 25, 2021 when the Sudanese military dismissed Abdalla Hamdok's transitional government and declared a state of emergency.

Prior to the military takeover, the country was governed by a sovereign council of military and civilian officials tasked with overseeing the transition period until elections in 2023.

Hamdok resigned on Jan. 2, six weeks after he returned to his post in a deal with the coup leaders. But the pro-democracy movement rejected that agreement.

*Writing by Mahmoud Barakat