
The Khartoum massacre occurred on 3 June 2019 when the Sudanese military, including Janjaweed militiamen, brutally cracked down on peaceful pro-democracy protests in the capital of Khartoum, killing around 118 people, injuring over 650 people, and raping over 70 women. The demonstrators had been protesting since 2018, and an 11 April 2019 military coup removed the dictator Omar al-Bashir from power, only for a military junta to be formed. The protesters asked for the military to immediately step aside and allow for a transitional government to be formed as the country would return to civilian rule, but, for two months, the military and civilians failed to agree as to whether the transitional government would be military or civilian-led. On 3 June 2019, the Rapid Support Forces (Janjaweed militia) attacked a sit-in demonstration with heavy gunfire, tear gas, and stun grenades, killing over 100 people and dispersing the rally. Several bodies were thrown into the Nile, and hundreds of civilians were wounded and over 70 women raped. Sit-ins in Port Sudan, el-Gadarif, and Sinja were also raided and attacked that same day. The governments of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Egypt supported the suppression of the protesters, their leaders having visited Sudan a month before the massacre; several of the army vehicles used in the massacre were manufactured by the UAE.