A revolution awaiting civilian rule
Sudanese protests against President Omar al-Bashir began in December 2018. After the military removed Bashir in April 2019, demonstrators maintained a large sit-in near the armed forces' headquarters in Khartoum, demanding a civilian-led transition rather than continued military government.
Negotiations between protest leaders and the Transitional Military Council broke down in late May. Before dawn on 3 June, armed forces moved against the encampment.
The dispersal
Human Rights Watch documented forces led by the Rapid Support Forces, alongside other security units, opening fire on unarmed protesters, beating people, burning tents and attacking medical facilities. Amnesty International and Physicians for Human Rights documented unlawful killings, torture or ill-treatment, arbitrary detention, sexual violence and enforced disappearances.
The abuses extended into surrounding streets and neighborhoods. Communications restrictions and the chaotic removal of victims made an immediate definitive casualty count impossible.
Why the death toll differs
An attorney-general committee announced that 87 people were killed between 3 and 10 June and 168 were injured. The Central Committee of Sudanese Doctors reported 127 deaths. Human Rights Watch later referred to more than 120 people killed during the crackdown and following days.
Responsibility without a final verdict
Human Rights Watch concluded that the attack appeared planned and could amount to crimes against humanity. Its investigation attributed a leading operational role to the Rapid Support Forces and documented participation by other security forces. These are evidence-based findings, not a final criminal judgment against a named commander.
An early attorney-general inquiry blamed senior officers who allegedly disobeyed limited orders, but opposition groups rejected its scope and conclusions. A separate independent commission was later created under Sudan's transitional arrangements.
The investigation stalls
The independent commission headed by lawyer Nabil Adib was expected to identify those responsible and support prosecutions. It did not publish a final report. In March 2022, the commission suspended work after security forces seized its offices. Reporting in 2023 said the investigation remained stalled because of Sudan's war.
The absence of a final conviction is not evidence that no crime occurred. It means the public record has not completed the step from documented institutional abuse to adjudicated individual responsibility.
Victim-centered record
The people in the sit-in were calling for civilian government after decades of authoritarian rule. The record includes people killed, injured, assaulted, detained or left searching for missing relatives. This page avoids graphic detail and does not reduce their lives to the violence inflicted upon them.
Current status
The mass killing and associated abuses are extensively documented. The exact death toll remains disputed, the national investigation has not delivered a final public accounting, and no final individual criminal conviction for the 3 June dispersal was located through September 2026. The case is classified as unresolved.
Sources
- Human Rights Watch — “They Were Shouting ‘Kill Them’”, 18 November 2019.
- Amnesty International — Sudan: A Cry for Justice, March 2020.
- Physicians for Human Rights and Berkeley Human Rights Center — Chaos and Fire, March 2020.
- Human Rights Watch — investigations stalled, 26 June 2023.
- Radio Tamazuj — investigation stalled during the war, 2023.
- Al Jazeera — five-year status review, 3 June 2024.