Sudan June Crackdown Killed 241 People: Rights Group

A Sudanese protester chants slogans in the capital Khartoum's Green Square on July 18, 2019, during a rally to honor comrades killed in the months-long protest movement that has rocked the country | AFP
A Sudanese protester chants slogans in the capital Khartoum's Green Square on July 18, 2019, during a rally to honor comrades killed in the months-long protest movement that has rocked the country | AFP
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Sudan June Crackdown Killed 241 People: Rights Group

A Sudanese protester chants slogans in the capital Khartoum's Green Square on July 18, 2019, during a rally to honor comrades killed in the months-long protest movement that has rocked the country | AFP
A Sudanese protester chants slogans in the capital Khartoum's Green Square on July 18, 2019, during a rally to honor comrades killed in the months-long protest movement that has rocked the country | AFP

Sudanese security forces deliberately killed 241 people in a crackdown on a pro-democracy protesters in June, an international rights group said Thursday.

It was the deadliest episode of a months-long protest movement that kicked off in late 2018 and led to the ouster of veteran president Omar al-Bashir in April 2019 and to civilian rule later that year.

Thousands of Sudanese protesters had camped outside the army headquarters in Khartoum demanding Bashir's ouster and kept up their sit-in even after his departure to protest against military rule.

On June 3, armed men in military fatigues moved in on the protest camp and dispersed thousands of demonstrators.

In the ensuing days-long crackdown, scores were killed and wounded.

Doctors linked to the protest movement have said at least 128 people were killed in the violence. Authorities gave a lower death toll of 87 and denied ordering the sit-in dispersal.

But in a scathing report titled "Chaos and Fire", the US-based NGO Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) said the crackdown was a "massacre" that claimed 241 lives.

"Sudanese security forces launched a series of planned, violent attacks against pro-democracy protesters that killed up to 241 people and injured hundreds more," the report released Thursday said.

The group said its findings were based on multiple witness testimonies, consultations with health workers and analysis of thousands of online footage and images of the dispersal.

"Sudanese security forces were responsible for perpetrating unconscionable acts of violence against pro-democracy demonstrators," said the report.

Those acts included "extrajudicial killings and torture, excessive use of force, sexual and gender-based violence, and the forced disappearance of detained protesters," it added.

Phelim Kine, PHR's research and investigation director, called the dispersal "an egregious violation of human rights".

PHR called on UN member states to sanction Sudanese officials responsible for the violence.

In August, Sudan's military leaders and others from the protest movement leaders formed a civilian-majority body to rule the country for a transitional period of three years.

The new authorities set up in October an independent commission to investigate the events of June 3. The team has yet to release its findings.



UN Says ‘Deliberate’ Choices ‘Systematically’ Depriving Gazans

04 June 2025, Palestinian Territories, Nusirat: Displaced Palestinians gather in a charity kitchen to receive aid amid a shortage of food, in Nuseirat refugee camp. (Belal Abu Amer/APA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa)
04 June 2025, Palestinian Territories, Nusirat: Displaced Palestinians gather in a charity kitchen to receive aid amid a shortage of food, in Nuseirat refugee camp. (Belal Abu Amer/APA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa)
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UN Says ‘Deliberate’ Choices ‘Systematically’ Depriving Gazans

04 June 2025, Palestinian Territories, Nusirat: Displaced Palestinians gather in a charity kitchen to receive aid amid a shortage of food, in Nuseirat refugee camp. (Belal Abu Amer/APA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa)
04 June 2025, Palestinian Territories, Nusirat: Displaced Palestinians gather in a charity kitchen to receive aid amid a shortage of food, in Nuseirat refugee camp. (Belal Abu Amer/APA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa)

The UN aid chief said Wednesday that recent "horrifying scenes" of Gazans being killed while seeking food aid were the result of "deliberate choices that have systematically deprived" them of essentials to survive.

A US and Israeli-backed group operating aid sites in the Gaza Strip announced the temporary closure of its facilities on Wednesday, with the Israeli army warning that roads leading to distribution centers were "considered combat zones".

The announcement by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation follows a string of deadly incidents near the distribution sites it operates.

On Tuesday, 27 people were killed in southern Gaza when Israeli troops opened fire near a GHF aid site, with the military saying the incident was under investigation.

"The world is watching, day after day, horrifying scenes of Palestinians being shot, wounded or killed in Gaza while simply trying to eat," UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher said in a statement.

"Emergency medical teams have confirmed treating hundreds of trauma cases. Yesterday alone, dozens were declared dead at hospitals after Israeli forces said they had opened fire.

"This is the outcome of a series of deliberate choices that have systematically deprived two million people of the essentials they need to survive."

He echoed the call by UN chief Antonio Guterres for immediate independent investigations, saying they were not isolated incidents, and the perpetrators must be held accountable.

"No-one should have to risk their life to feed their children," said Fletcher.

The GHF began operations a week ago, but the UN and major aid groups have refused to cooperate with it over concerns it was designed to cater to Israeli military objectives.

Meanwhile the United Nations has described the amount of aid allowed into Gaza, after Israel partially lifted a more than two-month total blockade, as a trickle.

"We must be allowed to do our jobs: we have the teams, the plan, the supplies and the experience," said Fletcher, the UN under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator.

"Open the crossings -- all of them. Let in life-saving aid at scale, from all directions. Lift the restrictions on what and how much aid we can bring in.

"Ensure our convoys aren't held up by delays and denials. Release the hostages. Implement the ceasefire."