Thousands of Sudanese protesters have swept the streets of several cities to commemorate the 40-day memory of the violent dispersal of a sit-in held outside the military head- quarters in the capital Khartoum last May.
The protesters lit candles and demanded justice for those killed during the revolution and security forces crackdown against demonstrators.
The Declaration of Freedom and Change Forces (DFCF) and the Transitional Military Council (TMC) are expected to meet on Sunday to dis- cuss the points of contention in the constitutional declaration. They were
supposed to meet on Saturday, but the meeting was postponed.
Last week, the DFCF and the TMC agreed on forming a sovereign council to lead the country for three years and three months.
The DFCF revealed that military leaders will head the sovereign council for 21 months, then civilian leaders will take the power for 18 months. The council will consist of 11 members, five military leaders, and five civil cadres, as well as a final civilian member which both are to agree on.
Saturday’s demonstrations are the first since the June 30 mass “million man march” which was called on by the DFCF protest group.
In May, security forces violently dispersed the Khartoum sit-in, killing more than 100 protesters and injuring 500 others according to opposition figures. The military admitted dispersing the sit-in.
Following the crackdown, the United Nations Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict, Pramila Patten, called for deploying teams to Sudan to investigate the involvement of Sudan’s militias and rapid support forces (RSF) into rape incidents.
Patten said that incidents, “include reported rapes and gang rapes of protesters, women’s human rights defenders, and female medical personnel working in hospitals near the sit-in perpetrated by the RSF.”
