This archive report was first published on 30 June 2019.
Sudan is bracing for a mass protest in the capital, Khartoum, as demonstrators fear a new military crackdown on June 30, 2019.
The planned 'million-man' march is seen as a test for protest organisers who have been hit by a June 3 raid on a Khartoum sit-in and a subsequent internet blackout that has curbed their ability to mobilise support.
Dozens of demonstrators were killed and hundreds wounded when armed men in military fatigues stormed the sit-in outside army headquarters, shooting and beating protesters who had camped there since April 6.
Protesters have voiced fears of new violence, with one protester, Mustafa, 25, saying, 'I expect large numbers... and it's very possible that security forces will use force against protesters.'
Another protester, Talal, 29, was looking forward to Sunday's rally, the first since the crackdown, saying, 'Even if only a few rallies take place in Khartoum, they will break the barrier of fear and more people will take to the streets in following days.'
The umbrella protest movement, the Alliance for Freedom and Change, said demonstrators will launch rallies from several areas in Khartoum and its twin city of Omdurman, and march to residences of some protesters killed in the June 3 raid.
According to doctors close to the alliance, about 130 people have been killed since the crackdown, the majority of them on that day.
The health ministry says 61 people died nationwide on that day.
The ruling military council insists it did not order the dispersal, but acknowledged 'excesses' after orders were given to purge a nearby area notorious for drug peddling.
The council has warned it would hold the alliance responsible for any fresh violence, saying, 'The country is going through a serious crisis, and we will hold the Alliance for Freedom and Change entirely responsible if any soul is lost in the march.'
