The United Nations called for a probe into the killing of five schoolchildren at a Sudan rally as protesters piled on pressure on army rulers to transfer power ahead of talks on the country’s transition.
Protesters accused the feared paramilitaries of the Rapid Support Forces, headed by powerful General Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, of shooting dead the five teenagers at a rally held against shortages of bread and fuel in the city of Al-Obeid on Monday.
The killings come as protest leaders are due to hold talks with the ruling generals yesterday on the remaining aspects of installing civilian rule after the two sides inked a power-sharing deal earlier this month.
The U.N. children’s agency UNICEF called on the authorities “to investigate and hold all perpetrators of violence against children accountable”.
“No child should be buried in their school uniform,” it said in a statement, saying the students killed were between 15 and 17 years old.