This archive report was first published on 31 July 2019.
Mass protests have erupted in Sudan after the shooting dead of schoolchildren at a rally in El-Obeid, with the ruling military authorities suspending school lessons indefinitely.
According to the state news agency, schools nationwide were ordered to close their doors from Wednesday, July 31, 2019, until further notice.
Protesting students gathered in cities including the capital Khartoum following the killings on Monday, with dozens more injured after snipers and other gunmen opened fire on a protest in El-Obeid over fuel and bread shortages.
Dozens were wounded in El-Obeid alongside the five who died, according to the Central Committee of Sudan Doctors, an organisation linked to the pro-democracy protesters.
The authorities have since declared a state of emergency in the area and a night-time curfew, with the United Nations children’s agency, Unicef, calling on the authorities to investigate the killings and bring the perpetrators to justice.
“No child should be buried in their school uniform,” Unicef said in a statement, adding that the students who died in El-Obeid were aged between 15 and 17.
The chairman of Sudan’s military council, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, has condemned the killings, saying, “What happened in El-Obeid is sad. Killing peaceful civilians is an unacceptable crime that needs immediate accountability.”
