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Sudanese protesters continued demonstrating for three months despite the state of national emergency. By STRINGER (AFP)
Sudanese police fired tear gas at demonstrators defying a national emergency on Thursday, and protests were held in Khartoum, the capital, and elsewhere, witnesses said.
Deadly demonstrations and clashes have rocked Sudan for more than three months, fueled by accusations that the government has mismanaged the economy, spiking food prices and a shortage of fuel and currency.
On Thursday, protesters demonstrated in the Burri and Bahari districts of Khartoum as well as in Omdurman, the twin city of the capital, witnesses said.
They were quickly gbaded by the riot police.
The protesters also gathered in the city of Madani, southeast of the capital, and in a town in the state of North Kordofan, witnesses told AFP over the phone.
"The protesters chanted anti-government slogans as they were gathering in Madani's main market, but they were faced with tear gas," said a resident of Madani under cover of anonymity .
The demonstrators also went out into the streets of the border town of Kasala, in the east of the country, witnesses said.
The first demonstrations took place on 19 December in Atbara, in the center of the country, in response to the government's decision to triple the price of bread.
They quickly degenerated into nationwide protests calling for the end of the power of President Omar al-Bashir, who came to power during a coup in 1989.
Bashir remained provocative and, after an initial crackdown on the protests, he imposed the state of emergency for a year, which the parliament then reduced to six months.
According to officials, 31 people died as a result of violence related to the protests, but Human Rights Watch has 51, including children and doctors.
Several demonstrators have been imprisoned by special emergency courts to investigate violations of the state of emergency.
Since the new measures came into effect, the scale and intensity of the protests have decreased, with demonstrations once a day turning into weekly gatherings, usually on Thursdays.
The movement, perceived by badysts as the biggest challenge so far for the Bashir government, was initially led by the Sudanese Professionals' Association (ASP).
Since then, several political parties have joined ASP to form a coordination group called Alliance for Freedom and Change, tasked with demanding protests against the veteran leader's regime.
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