Sudan's revolutionaries, meanwhile, maintain they will continue their struggle for a civilian-led government. Opposition leaders have called for a nationwide strike and civil disobedience next week. In pro-revolution neighborhoods, residents have set up dozens of makeshift roadblocks of bricks, burning tires, trash, and tree branches, making vehicle travel near impossible. Even the wounded say they won't back down."The revolution has just started," declared Mahmoud Abdulla, a 25-year-old student who survived the massacre. "What's passed the last two months is nothing."“The revolution is still there, but people just don't know what to do”
Mahmoud Abdulla (left) hides in a Khartoum hospital corridor with other massacre survivors while RSF troops try to enter the facility on June 4 2019. (Jason Patinkin for VICE News).
Breaking the sit-in
Roadblocks set up by protesters in Khartoum's Burri neighborhood to protest the June 3 massacre. (Jason Patinkin for VICE News).
The violence has put the spotlight on the Rapid Support Forces, a feared militia whose leader is the second in command of the junta and which is implicated in atrocities including murder and rape in Darfur and elsewhere. Men in police uniforms also participated in the assault, but most protesters told VICE News that these men were also part of the RSF."They were all teenagers," said Merdat Khadir, who was receiving care for his wounds at a nearby hospital. "The way they were beating people and attacking people was not the way the police attack people. They were so violent. Their uniforms were new, very fresh. Their accents were from Darfur. They couldn't understand when we were speaking. They were looking at us like we weren't human."Led by Lt Gen Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, the RSF is widely seen as the greatest threat to Sudan’s pro-democracy movement. With military strength rivaling Sudan’s regular army and a reputation for brutality, the RSF is now in de facto control of the capital. And with the backing of deep-pocketed regional heavyweights Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, it’s unlikely to relinquish power anytime soon. The junta has stood behind its actions, praising the militia for the operation, and vowing to crush any more "insurgents."“They were looking at us like we weren't human”
A soldier in a pickup truck mounted with a machine gun watches protesters on Nile Street in Khartoum on the night of May 13 2019. (Jason Patinkin for VICE News)
Surviving the massacre
Ahmed Ibrahim, who was shot in the hand during the June 3 massacre in Khartoum, flashes a V for Victory sign a symbol of Sudans revolution in a Khartoum hospital on June 4 2019. (Jason Patinkin for VICE News.)
“No more protests”
The FFC entered into talks with the junta in April to form a new government, a decision now viewed by some coalition members as a mistake, and controversially disowned “Colombia” before the massacre, declaring it outside the revolution. That decision, critics argue, lent credence to the military's claims of criminality among protesters and provided a pretext to the violence. The FFC also ordered the removal of extra barricades that were built by protesters to protect the sit-in from attack and pressure the military to give up power.“Life has completely stopped”