A/HRC/42/63 40. On 3 June in Khartoum, substantial casualties reportedly resulted from the joint operation by security forces against the peaceful mass sit-in in front of the army headquarters. Credible reports indicated that more than 100 protesters had been killed, and hundreds more had been injured in violence on that day and the days immediately following. Security forces reportedly raided hospitals and clinics and assaulted medical staff who were treating injured people. At least 10 bodies of protesters – possibly as many as dozens, according to conflicting accounts from various medical sources and civil society groups – were recovered from the Nile River in the days after 3 June, allegedly disposed of by security forces who participated in the operation. The Independent Expert also received allegations of rape and other forms of sexual violence perpetuated against both women and men during the crackdown, and information alleging that possibly hundreds of protesters were missing as of the end of June. 41. Sources reported to the Independent Expert that in June, tensions had escalated in Deleij village in Central Darfur between members of the local community and Arab members of the Rapid Support Forces based in the region. According to reports received, armed men allegedly from Arab tribes, possibly including members of the Rapid Support Forces, launched attacks against civilians in Deleij and surrounding villages on 9 and 10 June, resulting in at least 15 civilians killed and 15 injured. Sources also reported that dozens of homes and shops had been destroyed in Deleij and hundreds of heads of livestock had been reportedly looted. 42. On 30 June, excessive use of force by the Rapid Support Forces and security forces against protesters was reported in many of the country’s cities. According to media reports,12 the undersecretary for the Ministry of Health said on the evening of 30 June that 7 people had been killed and 181 wounded during the protests that day. He further said that 27 of those people had suffered gunshot wounds and that the remaining injuries had been caused by protesters. He stated that 10 members of the regular forces had been injured during the protests, including 3 members of the Rapid Support Forces who had been injured by gunshots, and that the other 7 members of the regular forces had been injured by stones thrown by protesters. The Central Committee of Sudanese Doctors reported that seven protesters had allegedly been killed in Omdurman and Atbara by live bullets fired by the Rapid Support Forces and other security forces. Three bodies of activists from Omdurman were reportedly found in Khor Abu Anga in Omdurman on the morning of 1 July, with visible signs of torture. Reports also indicated that the public hospital in Al-Gedaref city had been raided by joint Rapid Support Forces and security and police forces, who had chased protesters into the hospital and fired tear gas and live bullets inside the hospital, leading to the injury of at least one protester. Similarly, sources confirmed that joint forces from the Rapid Support Forces and the police chased protesters into the military hospital in Omdurman, firing tear gas and live bullets, and that, as a result, a medical staff member had been shot dead inside the hospital. This alleged killing in Omdurman is included in the number of seven killed in total, as reported by the Central Committee of Sudanese Doctors. Al-Tabib hospital in Khartoum was also raided, allegedly by joint Rapid Support Forces and police forces. C. Arbitrary arrest, detention, torture and ill-treatment 43. From the start of protests in December 2018, the Independent Expert received reports from multiple sources on large numbers of arrests and detentions by the National Intelligence and Security Services. The Minister of the Interior, speaking before the parliament on 6 January 2019, stated that 816 people had been arrested within the first three weeks of protests. Information from human rights groups suggested that the number of detentions might have been higher at the time. Additional reports that the Independent Expert received from multiple sources on the ground suggested that thousands of people might have been arrested and detained in circumstances linked to protests during the period under review. Many individuals were arrested multiple times, according to information 12 See, for example, www.swissinfo.ch/eng/tens-of-thousands-demand-civilian-rule-in-sudan--at-leastseven-killed/45066904. 9