KHARTOUM, Sudan 

More than 80 protesters have been killed and 135 others arrested in Sudan since the Oct. 25 military takeover, according to top UN human rights official Adama Dieng on Thursday.  

Dieng told a press conference in the capital Khartoum that 13 Sudanese women have reportedly been raped, of which one case has been confirmed by Sudanese authorities.  

The UN rights official voiced concern over the human rights situation in Sudan, calling on the Sudanese government to respect its international obligations regarding human rights and bring killers of protesters to justice.  

“Investigations into the killing of protesters have to be implemented,” he said, calling on the Sudanese authorities to lift the state of emergency, stop violence and release all detainees.  

“When you are a detainee and don’t have access to lawyer, this is a violation…and when people are shot to death this is also unacceptable and has to be investigated” he added.  

Since Oct. 25 last year, Sudan has witnessed protests in response to exceptional measures taken by army chief Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, most notably the imposition of a state of emergency and the dissolution of Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok’s transitional government, a move decried by political forces as a “military coup”.  

Local medics says that 82 protesters have been killed by security forces since October.

Prior to the military takeover, Sudan was governed by a sovereign council of military and civilian officials tasked with overseeing the transition period until elections in 2023.