Mass grave could be linked to Sudanese protests

The Sudanese authorities have uncovered a mass grave close to where demonstrators were violently dispersed outside Khartoum’s army headquarters last year, prosecutors said.

The bodies, uncovered on the other side of the White Nile to the military headquarters, include at least 25 men killed and buried in an “inhumane” manner, the attorney general’s Investigation Committee for Missing People said.

The committee believes the 25 men were “killed and buried in a manner incompatible with human dignity”, state media reported.

After exhumation, the bodies will be DNA tested and examined to determine the cause and date of death, the committee said.

Committee head Adib Nabil told The National that there is a chance the bodies are linked to the violent crackdown on anti-government sit- ins that occurred on June 3, last year.

More than a year on, the death toll remains unclear and dozens of people are still missing.

Government figures say 87 people were killed but an opposition union of doctors said the number is closer to 130.

“Scores of people were killed on that day, and there are reports – that we are neither confirming nor denying – that bodies were hidden from being discovered,” Mr Nabil said.

Protests raged across the country to topple Omar Al Bashir, the president at the time, and his regime between December 2018 and April last year.

But the June 3 sit- in was one of the deadliest days among the demonstrations after Al Bashir was desposed.

Negotiations led to the formation of a power-sharing agreement between Sudan’s civilians and the country’s military.

As part of that agreement, an investigation was launched into the deaths and human rights breaches committed on the night of June 3.

Mr Nabil said that it was important to keep the current findings of his committee confidential.

This was to “prevent the forging of documents and information and to prevent perpetrators from escaping punishment,” he said.