Hamdok promises to probe army brutality against protesters

Sudanese Prime Minister Dr Abdalla Hamdok has promised an investigation to bring to book army officers responsible for brutalising protesters since the October 25 coup when his government was toppled.

On Sunday, Dr Hamdok penned a deal with the Sudanese military leader, Lt. Gen. Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, in which the two leaders agreed on a ceasefire arrangement that led to the reinstatement of Hamdok as the premier and the release of detained civilian leaders.

According to Reuters, Hamdok met the members of Forces of Freedom and Change (FFC) on Tuesday at his residence, where he promised to sanction an investigation against the officers who have been blamed for the deaths of protesters, largely in the country’s capital, Khartoum.

Reuters revealed that at least 15 people were shot dead in the recent anti-coup protest that rocked Sudan after the military takeover. The military has been blamed for being aggressive and hunting down civilians from their homes and beating them up.

The FFC had failed to recognise the new deal between the military and the PM, but they have now tabled fresh demands, saying the Juba Peace Agreement must be implemented and the fired civilian leaders reinstated to their positions.

The truce that brought back Hamdok to the seat stipulates that the government led by technocrats will run on a caretaker basis and usher in a democracy in 2023.

Sudan entered a transitional phase after the civilian coup that led to the ouster of former leader Omar Al-Bashir in 2019.