Death in Khartoum by Bashir security police.

Death toll of those killed in Khartoum’s protest exceeds 60 people


October 8, 2013 (KHARTOUM) - The governor of Khartoum state, Abdel Rahman Al-Khidir said over sixty people died during the the recent wave of protests in his state, adding the investigations are still continuing to identify those involved in this killing.

The ministry of interior previously announced that only 33 protesters were killed in Khartoum and one in Wad Madani, central Sudan. Activists and opposition parties say the death toll may reach 200 people.

In a briefing to the representatives of political parties participating in the national government on Tuesday, Al-Kidir said the death toll varies between 60 to 70 victims killed during the anti-austerity protests which took place in the capital between 21 to 25 September.

He further said that this figure appeared after an inventory conducted by the ministry of heath including hospitals and morgues. He further accused rebel groups and some leftist parties and the "activists of Face Book" of killing the protesters.

"All clues point to the involvement in these events of the armed movements that have not signed peace agreements, the Sudanese Revolutionary Front and some leftist parties", he said.

He added that the social media websites fueled the demonstrations, saying "those who portrayed the overthrow of the regime could be like a stroll of demonstrations, and the regime would fall after that, are responsible for the shedding of blood in those events".

Referring to the conspiracy theory to explain the spontaneous protestations against the lift of subsidies, the governor said the demonstrations were well and orderly organised by certain quarters, because the rioters targeted specific locations such as police stations, fuel stations and transportation, with the aim to disrupt these sites.

He said that the police conduct investigations to determine the perpetrators of these deaths without any exceptional measures, adding its findings will be filed to the judiciary . He also said that any person arrested during the protest will be released if he is not involved in the acts of sabotage.

Sudanese authorities said over 600 people were arrested during the demonstrations. The courts started to try some of them, as many say they were apprehended from their houses and were not taking part in the demonstrations.

(ST)