Khartoum Massacre (2019)

Mon Jun 03, 2019

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Image: Protesters block a road with burning tires and paving stones in Khartoum on Monday. Photograph: Ashraf Shazly/AFP [theguardian.com]

On this day in 2019, the Khartoum massacre took place when Sudanese troops attacked sit-in protesters at Khartoum military headquarters with heavy gunfire and teargas, killing at least 100 people and throwing their bodies into the Nile.

More than 70 men and women were raped, and several hundred civilians were injured. The internet in Sudan was blacked out for days following the massacre.

The sit-in took place in the context of the Sudanese revolution, beginning with mass anti-government protests in December 2018. On April 11th, the military removed President Omar al-Bashir from power in a coup d’état, creating a Transitional Military Council (TMC). Protesters supported by the Sudanese Professionals Association (SPA) and various democratic opposition groups engaged in street demonstrations, demanding the TMC turn over power to a civilian-led transitional government.

In the days following the massacre, anti-TMC protests became even more intense, and a general strike involving 60-100% of workers broke out across the country. Roads were blocked and almost all formal and informal businesses were closed, including banks, public transport and Khartoum International Airport.