海角大神

A version of this blog appeared on Enough Said. The views expressed are the authors' own.聽

Sudanese police forces聽fired tear gas at over 1,000 mourners聽at a funeral procession on Wednesday for a junior-level University of Khartoum economics major who was killed by government forces on Tuesday, March 12.

Ali Abakar Musa鈥檚 death heralded a new bout of protests amid the implementation of new聽shoot-to-kill policies聽by government forces that tried to quell protests on the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Sudan and the renewed crisis in Darfur.

Protesters at the funeral marched in fury,聽chanting slogans聽that ranged from 鈥渢he killing of a student, the killing of a nation鈥� and for the 鈥渄ownfall of the regime鈥� in what was an effort to avenge the death of a student and a call for a new revolution against the ruling Bashir regime.

Mr. Musa was聽killed by security forces聽on Tuesday聽afternoon聽in a clash between police and protesters at Khartoum University.

The Tuesday protests started following a rally by the Darfur Student Association that had demanded the attention of the United Nations by writing an open letter addressing the critical situation in Darfur.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has聽reported聽55,000 people displaced from Saraf Omra in West Darfur since Feb. 28 following fighting between 鈥減aramilitary troops and government forces.鈥�

More than 50 villages were burned and 45,000 others have been displaced in villages around Darfur. Some 15,000 people have fled North Darfur after an attack by the government鈥檚 armed forces.

The student demands included urging the UN and Security Council 鈥渢o take all [the] necessary measures to stop the bloodshed in the Darfur region.鈥澛� They also demanded the allocation of peacekeeping troops from the African Union-UN Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) to protect civilians in those areas.

Among other demands was the inclusion of SAF鈥檚 Major General Abbas Abdul Aziz to the list of those indicted by the ICC in a renewed investigation in the crimes committed against civilians in Darfur.

This letter came after the UNAMID鈥檚 call for the end to the fighting in North Darfur on Monday, March 9, following fears of a resumed crisis in the region.

Another聽memorandum聽was submitted concurrently to the deputy speaker of Sudan's National Council by the Saraf Omra Student Association demanding immediate allocation of troops to Saraf Omra to protect citizens and maintain security.

The Tuesday聽rally escalated to a public聽protest against the regime of more than 200 students. They took to the streets outside of Khartoum University where they were met with a tear gas fired by security and police forces. Live ammunition, an ever more frequent police tool, was used, leading to the death of Ali Abakar Musa and the injury of two others. Hundreds were arrested and detained.

Protests erupted again聽Tuesday聽evening in front of the hospital where Musa was announced dead and those injured were being treated. A public address, caught on聽video, shows a student calling for protests and action to avenge the killing of a student. He said the government compelled all those arrested to sign documents saying that Musa died of natural causes and was not killed. The student on video exclaimed, 鈥淭hey are killing us in our own campuses, they are killing students! We have got to act and show him what he鈥檚 worth.鈥� 聽

The police responded with a聽statement聽Wednesday聽morning聽denying all responsibility for the events of聽Tuesday聽afternoon. They even stressed in the statement that the police will 鈥渕ake all-out efforts to uncover the circumstances of this incident and arrest the offenders.鈥� They further explained that they had only fired tear gas at students who had taken the protest outside the bounds of the university premises. The police聽statement聽included a聽public plea to citizens and students to not succumb to influence by illegal armed movements that are banned from congregating and engaging in any political activities. Armed rebel groups were once again blamed for the live ammunition fired at the students of Khartoum University.

A聽statement聽was issued by the dean of Khartoum University on Tuesday expressing deep regret and concern over the violence that erupted inside the university campus and the death of Musa. He also apologized for those injured in the event and condemned the violence. He promised an investigation into the incident by 鈥渃reating an investigation unit made by university professors to research the facts of the incident.鈥�

Furthermore, University of Khartoum spokesperson,聽Abdel-Malik Al-Naiem,聽announced the university's decision to suspend classes until further notice to avoid more violence from occurring on campus while the investigation is ongoing.

Ali Abakar鈥檚 death is one of over 200 deaths perpetrated by government forces since late September of 2013. Hundreds still continue to be killed by government forces in Darfur in an 11-year-old war between the government and rebel movements in Darfur.

Khartoum鈥檚 youth are now aware of the government鈥檚 brutality first-hand and they will not stop until the eventual 鈥渄ownfall of the regime.鈥�

Amid the media blackout in Sudan, citizen journalism was on the rise with Sudanese youth reporting on the university protests.

On Wednesday聽morning, many of those activists were arrested after having reported to news channels such as Al-Jazeera, Sky News, Fox, etc.

The youth seek to inform the international community of this week鈥檚 protest and educate the youth in Sudan of their rights to protest the humanitarian crisis in Sudan. So the 鈥渢he killing of a student鈥� becomes 鈥渢he killing of a nation.鈥�