Sudanese protesters take to streets in anger at massacre probe results

The results of an investigation by Sudan's public prosecution service were released on Saturday almost two months after members of the paramilitary and other armed forces participated in the deadly raid of a weeks-long sit-in in the capital Khartoum. 

Opposition activists say 127 people were killed in the 3 June massacre, but the report prepared by state prosecutors says 87 died on that day.

While the death toll released today is higher than the one previously claimed by Sudan's health ministry, protesters are furious that investigators claim only 17 victims were killed at the sit-in site.

Activists counter that tens more were killed at the sit-in outside of the military headquarters in Khartoum. 

At least 40 bodies were pulled out of the river Nile in the days following the brutal raid, opposition sources say, and eyewitnesses claim paramilitary soldiers were seen throwing bodies from the sit-in area into the river on the day of the attack.

The rage of many protesters has only been increased by investigators' claims that no demonstrators were raped during the massacre.

Eyewitnesses and activists say that tens of women and men - including doctors treating wounded protesters - were raped by Rapid Support Forces (RSF) troops.

Earlier this week demonstrators in Sudan staged protests under the banner #PinkForKandaka in solidarity with women who say they were raped by military forces. 

The probe alleges that, while the armed forces were ordered by top generals to clear an area outside the sit-in, rogue military officers took charge and entered the area, firing on civilians, burning tens and whipping protesters.

Eight senior officers will be charged with crimes against humanity for their role in the massacre, prosecutors said.

Both leading protest organiser the Sudanese Professionals Association (SPA) and the opposition Congress Party have come out against the investigation, which the SPA said had "undermined justice".

Sudanese activists on Saturday reported protesters taking to the streets in anger against the probe's results in various cities.

Videos and images distributed on social media platforms picture crowds of demonstrators in neighbourhoods of the capital Khartoum, its sister city Omdurman and Madani.

In some pictures, demonstrators are seen burning tires and erecting makeshift barricades - a common tactic among protesters who wish to deter the security forces from entering their neighbourhood - while in some Khartoum neighbourhoods, armed forces reportedly fired tear gas on protesters.

Earlier this month, the military council and opposition forces reached a power-sharing agreement, including a timetable for a transition to civilian rule.

The deal would establish a joint civilian-military sovereign council that would rule Sudan for a little over three years while elections are organised.

But disagreements persist and leaders of the movement have said they do not want any political parties taking part in the transitional government, insisting that the upcoming transitional government be made up of experts and technocrats.

Hundreds of Sudanese took to the streets Thursday in Khartoum and elsewhere in the country to support this demand.