Sudan’s veteran opposition leader Sadiq al-Mahdi on Friday 14 June, 2019 called for an “objective” international probe into last week’s deadly crackdown on protesters, after the ruling military council rejected such an investigation.

Mahdi’s call was supported by top US envoy Tibor Nagy, who charged an “independent and credible” investigation into the June 3 killings.

Thousands of demonstrators who had camped outside the army headquarters in central Khartoum for weeks were dispersed in an operation which left dozens dead.

The crackdown followed the collapse of talks between protest leaders and generals, following the ouster of president Omar al-Bashir.

The generals had repeatedly promised they would not disperse the sit-in, but on Thursday admitted that “mistakes” had been made.

Mahdi, speaking after attending Friday prayers at a mosque in Khartoum’s twin city of Omdurman, condemned the operation.

“The protest’s dispersal was wrong. There should be an independent international investigation into it,” he told AFP.

“It’s important that the probe is objective and not biased in favour of the authorities.”

Mahdi’s elected government was toppled in a 1989 coup led by Bashir, who then ruled for three decades before being ousted in April following mass protests.