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Sudanese police fired tear gas at hundreds of protesters heading for the presidential palace in Khartoum, demanding the resignation of President Omar al-Bashir.
Protesters chanting "freedom, peace and justice" gathered in central Khartoum on Thursday and began their march, but riot police quickly confronted them with tear gas, witnesses at the security agency said. AFP press.
Demonstrations too spread to other cities and towns including the city of Port Sudan in the Red Sea, the town of Gadaref in the province, and the agricultural center of Atbara, where the first demonstration broke out in December after the government's decision to raise the price of bread.
Since then, the protests have escalated into larger-scale protests against the three decades of reign of the iron poet of al-Bashir, who unleashed deadly clashes with security forces.
According to officials, at least 24 people have died, but human rights groups have reported a higher number of victims.
Khartoum-based journalist Al Jazeera said "these protests are considered the longest wave of protests against the government since the country's independence."
Last week, Amnesty International said more than 40 people were killed and more than 1,000 arrested.
Human Rights Watch said the dead include children and medical staff.
Before the demonstrations, AFP reported that one of the journalists had seen plainclothes security forces, spread out in Khartoum's city center and along the planned route for the march Thursday.
Several army vehicles, equipped with submachine guns, were stationed outside the palace.
Increase in the cost of the essential
Little traffic was observed at a morning rush hour usually.
The protest movement is being led by the Sudanese Professionals Association, a union of doctors, teachers and engineers, which has appeared in the vacuum created by the arrest of many leaders of the country. 39; opposition.
Mohammed Yousef, a spokesman for the badociation, said the protesters were ready to continue to pursue their grievances while remaining patient and wise.
"The Sudanese people are known for their determination, stubbornness and long-term play, and they are not foolhardy and do not despair easily," he said.
Despite the crackdown, the movement has become the biggest threat to the al-Bashir regime since it came to power in 1989.
The protesters accuse the government of al-Bashir of mismanaging key sectors of the economy and pouring funds into a military response that the Sudan can not afford.
Sudan suffers from a chronic shortage of foreign exchange since the split of South Sudan in 2011, taking with it the lion's share of oil revenues.
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| Sudanese protesters hold placards saying "Freedom, peace and justice" and "Revolution is people's choice" [Khaled Abdullah/Reuters] |
This has led to rampant inflation and double the cost of food and medicine, with frequent shortages in major cities, especially in Khartoum.
A challenger, al-Bashir, rejected calls for his resignation, but acknowledged that his country was facing economic problems for which many reforms were planned.
He ordered the police to use "less force" against the protesters, but the violence during the protests sparked international criticism.
The UN expresses its concern
United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet condemned Sudan's "repressive response" to protests.
"A repressive response can only exacerbate the grievances," she warned, calling on the Sudanese government to protect the right of protesters to freedom of expression and freedom of peaceful badembly, whatever their political affiliations.
"The government must ensure that security forces treat demonstrations in accordance with the country's international obligations to respect human rights by facilitating and protecting the right of peaceful badembly," Bachelet said.
SOURCE:
Al Jazeera and news agencies
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