Second death, rapes reported at Sudanese mass protest on Dec 19

<p>FILE PHOTO: People march to the presidential palace, protesting against military rule following last month's coup in Khartoum, Sudan December 19, 2021. REUTERS/Mohamed Nureldin Abdallah/File Photo</p>
Protesters to the presidential palace in Khartoum on Dec 19, 2021. PHOTO: REUTERS

KHARTOUM (AFP) - The death toll from a crackdown on Sudanese protesters on Sunday (Dec 19) rose to two, medics said on Tuesday, while a government ministry said two women were raped in the chaos.

On Monday, medics had reported a first shooting death in the previous day's street violence, while the Health Ministry reported 125 protesters injured, many by tear gas inhalation.

On Tuesday, the independent Sudan Doctors' Committee reported the additional death.

It said Abdelmoneim Mohamed Ali, 28, was killed with "a bullet in the head" in Omdurman, Khartoum's twin city.

Security forces cracked down on Sunday as hundreds of thousands marched, marking three years since the start of mass demonstrations that led to the ouster of veteran strongman Omar al-Bashir.

The protesters rallied against the north-east African country's military chief, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, who led a coup on Oct 25.

Nationwide, at least 47 people have been killed in street clashes in the past two months, according to the committee.

Two women demonstrators were raped in Sunday's protest, said Ms Suleima Ishaq, head of the Combating Violence Against Women unit at the Ministry of Social Development, without saying who were the suspected perpetrators.

"One woman filed a report with the authorities, while the other woman refused taking legal steps," Ms Ishaq told AFP.

The army on Monday insisted in a statement it supports "free and fair elections" in 2023.

However, the Forces for Freedom and Change, the umbrella group that spearheaded the protests against Bashir, has called for more demonstrations on Dec 25 and 30.

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