This archive report was first published on 3 August 2019.
Published on August 3, 2019, thousands of protesters marched in Khartoum and other Sudanese cities to demand justice for those killed in recent protests.
The Transitional Military Council (TMC) has acknowledged that its Rapid Support Forces (RSF) were involved in the shooting deaths of six people in the city of El Obeid earlier this week.
Despite the tension, talks on forming a transitional government are going ahead, with the protesters marching to pressure the TMC to punish the troops accused of killing four students and two adults in El Obeid.
The shootings took place on Monday as students rallied against shortages of electricity and fuel.
Initially, the TMC blamed 'shadow troops' still loyal to the government of ousted President Omar al-Bashir for the killings, but later reversed course and said seven RSF members have been arrested for the shootings and will be put on trial soon.
Amjad Farid, a spokesman for Sudan's opposition umbrella group, the Sudanese Professionals Association (SPA), said the proposed transitional government must still investigate the killings.
"The announcement of the TMC doesn't mean anything, because the political agreement has already decided that it will be an independent investigation committee that will be formed during the transitional period by the civilian government," Farid said.
Analyst Alfatih Mahmoud thinks the announcement is a positive step, as it names a responsible force and paves the way for greater transparency and punishment of those guilty.
