Police tear gas protesters Simultaneous rallies hit Sudan

KHARTOUM: Sudanese police fired tear gas at protesters on Thursday as thousands of anti-government demonstrators held simultaneous rallies across several cities and towns calling on President Omar al-Bashir to resign.

The east African nation has been rocked by more than a month of deadly protests triggered by the Bashir government’s decision to triple the price of bread. Protesters chanting the movement’s catchcry of "Freedom, peace, justice" have been confronted by a crackdown that has drawn international condemnation, including from the United States which has warned Sudan it could damage moves to improve their ties.

The mushrooming demonstrations are widely seen as the biggest threat to Bashir’s iron-fisted rule since he took power in an Islamist-backed coup in 1989. Officials say 26 people have died in the violence, but human rights groups have put the death toll at 40.

The Sudanese Professionals’ Association that is spearheading the protest campaign had upped the ante with a call for nationwide rallies on Thursday. The SPA called for rallies in 17 places in Khartoum and Omdurman -- the capital’s twin city on the west bank of the Nile River -- from where demonstrators were told to march towards the presidential palace.

On Thursday, hundreds of protesters began demonstrating in several areas of the capital, aiming to reach the palace but they were quickly confronted by riot police with tear gas, witnesses said.

"Let’s die like martyrs or fight for their rights," shouted men and women as they took to the streets in Khartoum’s eastern district of Burri -- a site of regular protests. Several previous attempted marches on the presidential palace have been broken up by riot police firing tear gas.

Hundreds of protesters chanting "freedom, freedom" and "revolution, revolution" rallied in Burri, blocking all roads leading to the district with tree trunks, iron pipes, rocks and burning tyres, witnesses said.

Thick black smoke from burning tyres and rubbish billowed into the sky from Burri, while residents living in far away areas complained about the impact of tear gas. "Today, the police are using less force but even if they use more force we don’t care," said a demonstrator without revealing his identity for security reasons.

"We will achieve our mission of overthrowing this regime." Witnesses said there were fewer policemen deployed across Khartoum and Omdurman on Thursday, although some wearing masks and driving pick-up trucks patrolled the streets in several areas.

Clapping and whistling, hundreds of protesters also demonstrated in Omdurman, but they too were hit by tear gas, witnesses said.

Anti-government rallies were also held in the Red Sea town of Port Sudan, in a village in North State, in the agricultural state of Gadaref and in the central town of Madani, witnesses said. Hundreds of protesters chanting the slogan of the movement "freedom, peace, justice" demonstrated for hours in Port Sudan, where police said a security agent from the powerful intelligence service that is leading a crackdown on protesters was killed on Wednesday in skirmishes with some soldiers.

Footage of men and women chanting and marching in several cities was uploaded on social media networks. Witnesses said several villages along the highway connecting Khartoum with the central city of Madani also saw protesters taking to the streets.

"Revolution, revolution" chanted protesters in Madani who were also confronted with tear gas, witnesses said. Several corporates and business outlets in Khartoum ordered their employees to leave before the protests began, while many schools saw few children attending classes.

The demonstrations come with Sudan battling an economic crisis driven by soaring inflation and a shortage of foreign currency. Bashir, 75, has remained defiant and rejected the calls to step down. He has blamed the violence on "infiltrators" among the protesters.

The veteran leader has accused the United States of causing Sudan’s economic woes, but his words have fallen on increasingly deaf ears as people have struggled to buy even basic foods and medicines.

The United States imposed a trade embargo on Sudan in 1997, and it was lifted only in October 2017. On Wednesday, Washington called for an investigation into the deaths of protesters, warning Khartoum that excessive force against demonstrators and intimidation of the press and activists would jeopardise relations.

"A new, more positive relationship between the United States and Sudan requires meaningful political reform and clear, sustained progress on respect for human rights," US State Department spokesman Robert Palladino said in a statement.