Sudan's New PM Launches Probe Into Protesters' Deaths
Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok flashes the victory gesture during a press conference unveiling the first cabinet since veteran leader Omar al-Bashir's overthrow, in Khartoum, Sept. 5, 2019.
CAIRO - Sudan's newly appointed prime minister is launching an independent investigation into June's deadly crackdown on protesters that killed dozens.
Abdalla Hamdok said late Saturday the seven-member committee includes a top judge, an independent figure and two attorneys.
The justice, defense and interior ministries will be represented on the committee which should conclude its probe within six months.
In June, security forces killed dozens of pro-democracy protesters when they violently dispersed a sit-in outside the military's headquarters in the capital, Khartoum.
Protest leaders demanded the establishment of an independent inquiry as part of a subsequent power-sharing agreement with the military.
An investigation by Sudanese prosecutors in July said the ruling generals did not order the deadly break-up, but blamed the widely condemned dispersal on paramilitary forces who exceeded their orders.