This 18-second video recorded sounds of apparent automatic gunfire heard on a part of Al-Siteen Street. The distinctive buildings in the video as well as the billboard have been matched with the landmarks found around here: 15.566648, 32.577867.

Other footage on the same street shows people running from what sounds like gunfire. There are distinctive buildings in the background, which match to landmarks seen on Google Maps, around here: 15.565105, 32.578395.

This location is close to the junction of Bashir Elnefeidi (Al-Siteen) Street and Al Shargi (or Shrarqi) Street. A witness who was present on October 30 in Khartoum told the Sudanese Archive that by 3 p.m. protesters had divided up, with some wanting to go to the military headquarters (the site of the former sit-in during 2019), and others wanting to set up a sit-in at the Al-Siteen - Al Shargi intersection. The witness said that by 4 p.m., barricades had been set up all along Bashir Elnefeidi (Al-Siteen) Street, from the Royal Care hospital south to the intersection of Al-Siteen and Sharqi Streets. The witness said at sunset, the authorities started moving towards the barricades on Bashir Elnefeidi (Al-Siteen) Street and fired at protesters. The witness said authorities used side roads to access Bashir Elnefeidi (Al-Siteen) Street in order to trap the protesters who were behind the barricades, and then lift the barricades. This continued until nightfall, however no casualties were reported from the area.

There were no noticeable shadows in the video, suggesting it would have been filmed after sunset, around 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. local time.

Footage from around the same location shows Sudanese troop movement along with sounds of gunfire. This was likely filmed after sunset as well, around 6:00 p.m.

In that verified video, taken from high above showing a wide view of the street, at least 12 vehicles can be seen. All appear to be pick-up trucks in dark green, light brown, and blue camouflage patterns, known to be affiliated with the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Sudanese police.

An image from a video showing numerous pick-up trucks carrying people consistent in style and colour affiliated with the Sudanese military and police.

In many of the vehicles are several people wearing what appear to be military and police uniforms, again in solid or camouflaged green, brown and blue. The camouflaged vehicles with people sitting in the back in two lines are consistent with a unit known as the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

A close-up of vehicles visible in a video showing security forces on Bashir Elnefeidi (Al-Siteen) Street. The blue trucks are consistent in colour and style with Sudanese police, and the green and brown vehicles are consistent with styles linked to the Sudanese Armed Forces.

Finally, after nightfall, the violence continued, as shown in this video posted to Facebook. Authorities can be seen moving north on the street while shots are heard in the background. We stitched together a mosaic of the images seen in the Facebook video. We geolocated the location of the video by matching landmarks seen in the video with reference satellite imagery, as shown below.

Again, this video reveals numerous pick-up trucks carrying people, some who appear to be in uniform, and the vehicles and people are moving in a coordinated manner.

An image of vehicles and people - some in uniform - from a video in which they appear to be moving in a coordinated manner.

Victims

As described above, Sudanese Archive identified victims of injuries in Omdurman:

• A video of an injured man with blood on his right knee being carried off

• Documentation of a man with blood on his back, whose name corresponds to medical records reporting a victim shot in the chest and stomach

And videos in which the injured appear to have been killed :

• Documentation of the presence of security forces, sounds of gunfire, and a victim falling to the ground and being carried away by protesters

• A video from a distance showing a protester fall to the ground near the fish market in Omdurman

On November 1st, the Ministry of Health Khartoum State, affiliated with the transitional government from before the October 25 coup, released a statement on their Facebook account about the casualties of October 30th. Violence against protesters varied from injuries and suffocation by teargas canisters to firing live and rubber bullets. This led to the death of three protesters: Abdelwahab Awadallah who was transferred to Al-Arbaeen (Fourty) hospital, and Fakhri Saleh and El-Amin Khalifah Harun Thuban, who were both transferred to Omdurman hospital. The statement included 199 injured others who were transferred to Omdurman hospital, Royal Care hospital, East Neil hospital, Al Arbaeen (Fourty) hospital, Altaqa hospital, Al Dawli (international) hospital, and Allu hospital.

On November 11th, the Central Committee of Sudan Doctors (CCSD) announced that a fourth protester, Mohamed Nour Ahmed, died of a neck wound after being shot on October 30th.

Potential perpetrators

In this investigation, the Sudanese Archive team identified eight videos in which security forces can be seen. Our analysis was also reviewed by a Sudanese security expert, and corroborated by other visual evidence, witness statements, and reports from other organisations including Human Rights Watch.

As described in the visual analysis sections above, this investigation identified the likely presence of:

• The Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) in both Omdurman and Khartoum:

These forces can be identified by their military uniforms, usually in a green camouflage pattern, or solid green for SAF military police.

• The Sudanese police, including likely either the Riot Control Police or the paramilitary Central Reserve Police in both Omdurman and Khartoum:

The police themselves confirmed their presence on October 30 by denying publicly the use of live ammunition. The regular police are identified by their plain blue uniforms, while the Central Reserve Police can be identified by blue camouflage uniforms, according to an independent researcher.

• The Rapid Support Force in both Omdurman and Khartoum:

These forces were identified by their “distinct desert camouflage light khaki uniforms, and the characteristic presence of pick-up trucks with groups of several fighters sitting on the side - each truck has its supplies and munitions packed in rolled packages that are visible on the back end of the truck,” according to a trusted security source. The investigation identified dozens of vehicles meeting this description lining the road in Khartoum in a coordinated manner.

The Sudanese Archive has developed a standardised methodology for the identification of potential perpetrators. In each video reviewed in which potential perpetrators are visible, we identify any indicators of the following: uniforms known to be associated with specific military, police or armed groups, vehicles identified by a security force unit or known to be affiliated with a specific group, logos, insignias, and other symbols that can be directly linked with military, police or other armed groups.

According to a security expert, the wide-scale presence of security forces, pattern of violence and mixing of several forces together, denotes a centralized command and rules of engagement authorizing the use of firearms and teargas to achieve the suppression of the protests.

Legal context

The Sudanese Archive consults with legal experts to better understand the use of force and weapons that could constitute a violation of human rights in the context of protests and demonstrations. According to our legal contacts, the use of force, including the use of less-lethal weapons such as teargas for the purposes of crowd control, is legitimate only when necessary and proportionate. Indiscriminate use of teargas and other less-lethal crowd control methods can constitute excessive use of force. In line with international standards, teargas should only be employed when necessary to prevent imminent physical harm and should not be used as a first resort to disperse nonviolent demonstrations, such as during the protests on October 30, 2021. Security forces and law enforcement should also issue audible, adequate warnings before using teargas, and should avoid exacerbating the situation. Additionally, security forces should avoid targeting enclosed spaces with teargas, including spaces where protestors are trapped behind barricades.

The use of live ammunition and/or lethal force when there is no imminent threat to life or imminent risk of serious injury violates international human rights standards. Intentional lethal use of firearms may be made only “when strictly unavoidable in order to protect life,” and firearms should never be used simply to disperse a peaceful assembly. Security forces must make every effort to minimise damage and injury at all times by using only the minimum level of force necessary, including by refraining from the indiscriminate use of live fire and intentional targeting of protestors’ heads and chests. Sporadic violence by some protestors that is not an immediate threat to life, such as stone throwing or kicking of teargas canisters back at security forces, does not justify the use of lethal force by security forces and law enforcement.

Conclusion

This investigation identified several instances of violence that could contravene human rights in Khartoum and Omdurman. General Burhan has repeatedly denied that his troops used lethal force against civilians and along with Prime Minister Hamdok blamed the police for the violence or “armed elements” linked to political parties. Relating to these allegations, they fired the chief of police. The Sudanese Archive team verified videos showing people in blue, green and beige uniforms as well as plain clothes, and travelling or standing near dark green, beige, white, and blue pick-up trucks, in some cases holding and firing what appear to be rifles. The open source content also contained imagery of large crowds of protesters, cases in which they ran amid sounds of gunfire or from teargas, and protesters being injured and taken to hospital.

The investigation identified many of the same or similar patterns in violence against protesters on October 30, 2021 as occurred in 2019, both before and after the regime of Omar Al-Bashir. Using the verified videos and corroborating evidence we can conclude that perpetrators likely to be the Sudanese police, in particular the Riot Control Police or the paramilitary Central Reserve Police, the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), and the Rapid Support Force (RSF), shot teargas and guns toward protesters. These forces appeared to be well-coordinated and cooperating.

The Sudanese Archive works to preserve digital evidence for accountability for crimes committed against Sudanese citizens. If you have any material that might be useful for our archives or investigations, please contact us at info@sudanesearchive.org.