Sudanese protesters chant "freedom" as police fire tear gas



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Crowds of Sudanese protesters chanted "freedom, freedom," as riot police threw tear gas canisters at anti-government protests in the capital and its twin city of Omdurman on Monday, witnesses said.

According to them, protesters took to the streets of two districts of Khartoum and Omdurman, on the other side of the Nile.

Riot police quickly moved to disperse the demonstrations, firing tear gas at one of the rallies in Khartoum and the twin city, witnesses said.

Even when police fired tear gas, protesters kept the cry of "Freedom, Peace, Justice" of the anti-government campaign that broke out in December, witnesses said.

Monday's protests took place after activists called for new rallies this week against President Omar al-Bashir's government.

Deadly demonstrations have rocked East Africa since December after Khartoum, run out of money, had suppressed a vital subsidy for bread.

The demonstrations quickly degenerated into anti-government demonstrations in towns and villages, protestors calling on Bashir to withdraw.

According to officials, 30 people died in protests nationwide, but according to Human Rights Watch, at least 51 people were killed.

Bashir remained provocative, addressing Loyalists at rallies across the country and seeking support from his regional allies.

On Sunday, he organized three rallies in the state of North Kordofan, where he pledged to support rural growth by undertaking new infrastructure projects.

Bashir and other senior Sudanese officials have repeatedly said that the government can only be changed by elections.

The veteran leader, who took power in 1989 at a coup d 'état backed by Islamists, is planning to run for a third presidential term at the polls scheduled for next year.

The protest campaign led by the Sudanese Professionals Association is considered the biggest challenge for Bashir's rule in three decades.

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