Gunfire Wounds 11 Near Khartoum Sit-in Site

At least 11 people were wounded by gunfire near the site of an ongoing sit-in in the Sudanese capital of Khartoum on Saturday, according to Reuters, which cited an opposition doctors’ committee. The report did not clarify whether all of the wounded were protesters. In a statement, one of Sudan’s protest groups, the Sudanese Professionals’ Association (SPA), blamed the violence on the Transitional Military Council (TMC), calling it “just a prelude to committing a massacre to end the sit-in by force.” The military head for central Khartoum reportedly said two days prior to the shooting incident that the protest site had become “unsafe” and was threatening national security. Tensions are rising between the TMC and the opposition alliance, which has been demanding the military rulers hand over power to civilians ever since the overthrow of president Omar Al-Bashir on April 11. The two sides reached a compromise when they agreed on a three-year transitional period and the composition of a legislature, although the talks collapsed before a final approval could be reached on a sovereign governing council.