Sudan Suspended from the African Union Following Deadly Protest Crackdown

The African Union (AU) has come to the decision to suspend Sudan from the organization with immediate effect after the military launched a deadly military crackdown on protesters.

In a Twitter post, the AU stated, “The #AU Peace and Security Council has with immediate effect suspended the participation of the Republic of #Sudan in all #AU activities until the effective establishment of a Civilian-led Transitional Authority, as the only way to allow Sudan to exit from the current crisis.”

At least 108 people have been killed and more than 500 wounded, according to the Central Committee of Sudanese Doctors (CCSD) which is part of the pro-democracy protest group.

Reports indicate that a militia commanded by the deputy head of the military council, launched a crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrators in Khartoum earlier this week.

It said the causalities included three children who had been shot at home in front of their mother and 40 bodies were allegedly pulled out of the Nile by security forces on Wednesday.

Images circulating on social media show several bodies tied to bricks that were allegedly hauled out of the river some miles downstream from Khartoum.

Sudan’s military has denied it carried out the assault on the Khartoum protesters, with Mohamed Hamdan, deputy leader of the military council and head of the Rapid Support Forces, instead of blaming “forces” who had obtained Rapid Support Forces (RSF) uniforms.

In a statement published on the official Sudanese news agency (SUNA), the army said it would safeguard Sudanese lives, but called on people to stay away from military installations.

Diplomatic pressure has, nonetheless, continued to increase on the Transitional Military Council, which seized power from dictator Omar al-Bashir two months ago, to stop the crackdown and hand over rule to civilians.

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