Sudan protesters chant ‘freedom’ as police fire tear gas

KHARTOUM: Crowds of Sudanese protesters chanted "freedom, freedom," as riot police fired tear gas on anti-government rallies in the capital and its twin city of Omdurman on Monday, witnesses said. They said protesters took to the streets in two districts of Khartoum and in Omdurman, across the Nile. Riot police swiftly moved in to disperse the protests, firing tear gas at one of the rallies in Khartoum and in the twin city, according to witnesses. Even as police fired tear gas, protesters kept up the "freedom, peace, justice" rallying cry of an anti-government campaign that erupted in December, witnesses said. Monday's demonstrations came after campaigners called for new rallies this week against the government of President Omar al-Bashir. Deadly protests have rocked the east African country since December after cash-strapped Khartoum cut a vital subsidy on bread. The protests quickly escalated into anti-government demonstrations across cities and towns, with protesters calling on Bashir to step down.