September 1, 2021 (Khartoum) An official source told Darfur 24 that the expert technical committee that `provides assistance to the team investigating the Army Head Quarters sit-in violent dispersal in 2019 in the capital Khartoum has set a long-term time limit to accomplish its mission.
The source said that the expert committee had set next May 2021 to complete its mission, indicating that the authorities had negotiated with the committee about shortening the period, but the committee stuck to the period it had set, adding that the authorities were still studying the matter and had not decided on it.
The June 3, 2019 crackdown on the protest camp outside the military headquarters in Khartoum, and others elsewhere in the country, came weeks after the military overthrew longtime President Omar al-Bashir after months of protests against his nearly 30-year rule.
Protest organisers, who had initially gathered to resist al-Bashir’s rule but stayed after his removal to demand a transition to civilian, say security forces killed at least 128 people during the violence. Many saw the incident as a turning point in the relationship between the military generals, who have denied ordering the killing, and the protest movement.
The transitional military-civilian government that currently rules Sudan established an independent committee in 2019 to investigate the crackdown, which also involved what activists describe as a campaign of rapes and sexual misconduct by troops ordered by the military to crush the pro-democracy movement.
However, the investigatory panel has repeatedly missed its deadlines for reporting, angering victims’ families and rights groups