Opposition Leader Calls for Probe in Mounting Deaths in Sudan Protests

  • 12/23/2018
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Some 22 people have been killed in Sudan’s protests that erupted on Wednesday over the rising cost of bread as opposition leader Sadiq al-Mahdi defended the rallies as justified. He blamed on Saturday "armed repression" for the deaths as officials gave a lower toll. A government decision to increase the price of a loaf of bread from one Sudanese pound to three (from about two to six US cents) has sparked demonstrations across the country since Wednesday. "We condemn the armed repression of demonstrations," said Mahdi, leader of the Umma Party, during a press conference in Omdurman on the west bank of the Nile, reported AFP. The protests first erupted in the eastern city of Atbara before spreading to Al-Qadarif, also in eastern Sudan, and then to the capital Khartoum and twin city Omdurman and other areas. Two demonstrators were killed in Atbara and six others in Al-Qadarif, officials said Thursday, as protesters torched offices of the ruling National Congress Party (NCP). Mahdi called for a "national and international investigation" into the deaths and said demonstrations will continue to rock Sudan. The protest movement "is legal and was launched because of the deteriorating situation in Sudan," he said in his first news conference since returning home on Wednesday after almost a year in exile. According to witnesses, demonstrations spread on Saturday to at least two more cities: Wad Madani, south-east of Khartoum, and El Rahad south-west of the capital. Around "300 people came to the center of Wad Madani chanting the people want the fall of the regime," one witness told AFP by phone. Police responded with tear gas and by hitting the protesters with batons, he added. In El Rahad, hundreds of demonstrators shouting "no to hunger" were tear gassed, while administrative premises and the office of the NCP were set on fire, according to another witness. Government spokesman Bashar Jumaa on Friday warned that authorities "will not be lenient" with those who set state buildings on fire or cause other damage to public property. Opposition members have also been detained, according to Sadiq Youssef from the National Consensus Forces alliance. He said 14 members of the coalition including its president, Farouk Abu Issa, were arrested as they left a meeting, said AFP. The arrests could not be officially confirmed. The demonstrations follow a year of mounting economic woes in Sudan, where the cost of some commodities has more than doubled. Inflation is running at close to 70 percent and the pound has plunged in value, while shortages have been reported for the past three weeks across several cities including Khartoum. Demonstrations broke out in January over the rising cost of food, but they were soon brought under control with the arrest of opposition leaders and activists. Also on Saturday, Sudans national news agency SUNA reported that President Omar al-Bashir appointed a senior officer from the powerful National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS) as governor of Al-Qadarif. Mubarak Mohammed Shamat will replace Mirghani Saleh who was killed in a helicopter crash on December 9, SUNA said.

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