More Sudanese cities have joined a wave of anti-government demonstrations, along with the capital Khartoum and other areas, in response to calls by the opposition and the Sudanese Professionals’ Gathering to press ahead with weekly protests despite a state of emergency. Social networking sites broadcast videos of demonstrations in the western city of Al-Nuhud, the town of Al-Abiad, the capital of North Kordofan State, and Wad Madani, capital of the central province of Al-Jazirah. Media reports spoke of excessive violence by security forces against demonstrators in the city of Barra, west of Omdurman. According to a press group, small villages took part in Thursday’s rallies, including the village of Dontai, which borders the southern city of Sinnar, where the residents organized their own demonstration, carrying banners condemning the regime and demanding that President Omar al-Bashir step down. Many districts and areas in Khartoum responded to the call of the Sudanese Professionals’ Gathering and organized mass demonstrations. Bashir imposed a state of emergency in the country in February 22 and issued presidential orders that imposed severe punishments on demonstrators, protesters and opponents, ranging from six months to ten years of imprisonment. He also dissolved the central government, sacked state governors, appointed military rulers, and granted the security services broad powers to confront rallies and demonstrations. Thirty-one people were killed in the protests, according to an official toll, while the opposition says the toll from excessive violence used by the security services against demonstrators exceeded 50 people, in addition to hundreds of injured and wounded.