UN calls for investigation into allegations of rape during Sudan protests

The United Nations Human Rights Office said on Tuesday that it had received 13 allegations of rape and gang rape by security forces during protests in Sudan on Sunday, while opposition medics reported a second person killed.

Sunday's demonstration drew hundreds of thousands of people to the capital Khartoum to protest against a military coup on October 25 and a November 21 agreement signed to reinstate the Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok.

Demonstrators converged on the presidential palace, where they attempted a sit-in before being dispersed after sundown.

Officials from the Sudanese security forces reached by Reuters did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The UN Human Rights Office spokeswoman Liz Throssell told a briefing that the office received 13 allegations of rape and gang rape as well as reports of sexual harassment against women by security forces as they attempted to flee. She did not give details of the alleged rapes or gang rapes.

"We urge a prompt, independent and thorough investigation into the allegations of rape and sexual harassment as well as the allegations of death and injury of protesters as a result of the unnecessary or disproportionate use of force in particular the use of live ammunition," said Throssell.

One person was shot in the head by security forces in Omdurman, across the Nile from Khartoum, the Central Committee of Sudanese Doctors said in a statement, the second person to die as a result of Sunday's crackdown, bringing the total death toll from anti-military protests since October to 47.