UN rights experts call for probe into Sudan 'abyss'

UN rights experts called Wednesday for the Human Rights Council to set up a probe into possible violations committed by Sudan's security forces against "peaceful protesters".

Sudan is "sliding into a human rights abyss," a group of five United Nations experts said in a joint statement.

A military council has led Sudan since it toppled autocratic president Omar al-Bashir on April 11 after months of nationwide protests against his iron-fisted rule of three decades.

Following Bashir's removal, protesters camped outside military headquarters in Khartoum for weeks to demand civilian rule, before security and paramilitary forces dispersed them in a June 3 crackdown that killed dozens.

The experts called for an "independent investigation" to be set up by the UN Human Rights Council, which opens a new session on June 24.

The signatories of the statement include Aristide Nononsi, who focuses on human rights in Sudan, as well as the special rapporteur on the right to peaceful assembly, Clement Nyaletsossi Voule, and Agnes Callamard, the rapporteur on extrajudicial or summary executions.

UN human rights experts are independent specialists who do not speak for the world body.

Establishing a Human Rights Council probe requires a resolution that gains support from a majority of the council's 47 members.