Day 100 of the Military Coup
Summary of Events
The sit-in at Hajjar Dormitory has completed its seventh day, as student residents continue to protest demanding justice and safe housing after a resident was robbed and sexually assaulted in her room last Tuesday.
The Sudanese Teachers Committee organized protests in several cities today, including Khartoum, Kassala and ElObeid, calling for civilian rule and demanding sentencing is carried out in the case of the late Ahmed Elkhair, who was tortured and killed by authorities in 2019.
The US Senate held a hearing today about Sudan, in which they discussed American policy regarding #SudanCoup. Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Menendez iterated the need for US and international actors to "respond decisively" to help the country get back on the democracy track. He also stressed the importance of "consequences" for #SudanCoup officials and those committing human rights violations.
Senator Coons, who led the bill to impose targeted sanctions, held the strongest position today: "I fear the transition is dead, and America must do more."
But the US administration seems to have some "gaps" in its view of the current situation - e.g. Assistant Secretary of State Molly Phee, who talked about the importance of the 2019 Constitutional Agreement, which is as good as defunct at this point. She also mentioned that Sudan "security forces are not aligned, and some of their elements want to see a transitional process, but they don't know how to implement it." It is unclear who she specifically means by that statement.
Regarding sanctions, Assistant Secretary Phee said the US administration is "looking at using the power we have, and developing new powers, specifically looking at illegal gold mining."
Regarding regional powers: "our view [...] is that there's a false choice that supporting the security forces at expense of civilians will bring stability [...] We deeply contest that assumption [...] that support to the security forces exclusively will result in stability to Sudan."
