According to reports from Sudan's capital city, the last remaining internet connections are being cut off. This attempt at a total Internet shutdown is reported to have started on Monday, 10 June 2019.
This came at a time when pro-democracy protesting civilians were murdered and raped by Sudan's military troops during a sit-in protest.
Speaking to The Guardian, a doctor who has access to data compiled by the central committee of doctors in Sudan said hospitals in Khartoum had recorded more than 70 cases of rape in the attack and its immediate aftermath. Another doctor who works at the Royal Care hospital in Khartoum added that they had treated 8 victims of rape of which 5 were women and 3 were men. Many other rape cases had been treated at other hospitals too.
Military cuts off Internet access in Sudan
The internet shutdown in Sudan is fast moving towards a complete and total shutdown as on Wednesday more telecommunications companies were forced to cut off Internet access. The country's military confirmed earlier during the week that they were responsible for the Internet shutdown in Sudan.
As such, people in Sudan are struggling to stay informed regarding emergencies and where they can get assistance as well as not being able to keep in touch with their friends and family during a very difficult period in Sudan.
As NetBlocks reports, these new Internet disruptions in Sudan come in addition to the ongoing blackout affecting mobile providers MTN, Mobiltel (ZAIN), parts of the national Sudan Telecom Sudatel / Sudani network, and education and research network SUDREN.
"On Wednesday 5 June, connectivity with fixed-line provider Canar (Kanartel, AS33788) dropped to 40%, knocking out most subscriber connections," wrote NetBlocks.
Power-sharing
The pro-democracy protests by Sudanese people are a result of protestors wanting a democratic civilian-ruled state as opposed to the army taking over the country.
Thus, earlier this week, the protestors ended their strike and agreed to sit and meet with the military to have power-sharing talks. All this comes on the backdrop of the army forcing Sudan's former leader, Omar al Bashir, to step down.
— By Sello Moloi
