US condemns bloody crackdown on protesters in Sudan

By Umar Farooq

WASHINGTON (AA) - The U.S. on Wednesday condemned a deadly crackdown on protesters in Sudan which has claimed over 100 lives and left hundreds injured.

"We send our condolences to the victims and families who lost loved ones. We call on Sudan’s Transitional Military Council and the Rapid Support Forces to desist from violence and we call for resumed contact with the Forces for Freedom and Change with the aim of a civilian-led transition that leads to timely elections and free expression of the will of the Sudanese people," State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said in a statement.

Ortagus added that State Department officials were in talks with officials from the region and said the U.S. "remains firmly committed to working with the people of Sudan, along with our international partners, in pursuit of a peaceful solution in Sudan".

Sudanese security forces moved in to clear a main protest camp near the army headquarters in Khartoum on Monday using live ammunition and teargas to disperse protesters who had been camping out near the military facility since the April ouster of long-time President Omar al-Bashir after months of popular protests against his 30-year rule.

The crackdown has left 108 people dead and more than 230 injured, according to the latest figures from the Central Committee of Sudanese Doctors. Dozens of bodies were also discovered along the banks of the Nile River which are believed to be those of protesters killed in clashes with security forces.

The Transitional Military Council (TMC) is now overseeing a two-year transitional period during which it has pledged to hold presidential elections.

Demonstrators, however, have remained on the streets demanding that the TMC relinquish power at the earliest possible date to a civilian authority.

The sit-in near the army headquarters has been the epicenter of these protests