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Khartoum, Sudan – Sudanese protesters called on Saudi Arabia and the UAE to "keep their money" one day after Riyadh and Abu Dhabi proposed to Khartoum to send aid of 3 billion dollars.
Hours after Sunday's announcement by oil-rich oil states, protesters gathered in front of the Sudanese army headquarters in the capital and chanted, "We do not want Saudi support."
"They are lobbying and using money to try to control Sudan, we have enough resources to defend ourselves and defend our interests," Adil Gasem Alseed, a businessman, told Al Jazeera on Monday.
"We can rebuild our country without their help, we say thank you, keep your money, please," said the 52-year-old.
Other protesters said that Sudan needed good leadership and not foreign aid.
"We have the resources, and with good leadership, we can take care of our country," Hanan Alsadiq, a student at the university, told Al Jazeera.
"The timing of the help tells them a lot about their intentions, why did they wait until now? Why did not they call Omar al-Bashir to stop?" while he was killing our people, their money will only create problems for us, "said Alsadiq, who was born in Saudi Arabia.
The army kidnapped al-Bashir earlier this month after months of anti-government protests in which dozens of people were killed.
In a joint statement, the two Gulf states said $ 500 million would be deposited with the Sudanese central bank to "ease the pressure on the Sudanese pound and ensure greater stability in the rate of exchange".
The rest of the money will be sent in the form of food, medicine and fuel derivatives, the statement added.
Many protesters at the sit-in said they suspect the two countries of trying to influence the ruling transitional council.
Lieutenant-General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, head of the Sudanese Transitional Military Council, led the country's ground troops when Khartoum sent his troops to Yemen as part of a Saudi coalition against the Houthi rebels.
Deepening of the economic crisis
Economists say Sudan needs all the financial help it can get to improve its economic situation.
"Sudan needs this badistance and these loans to fill the gap of trade imbalance and needs financial support to fill the gaps in its annual budget," Muhammad Aljak, professor at Al Jazeera, told AFP. At the University of Khartoum.
"It is too early to judge whether this badistance is granted under certain political conditions or large concessions on the part of the military council.The Sudan needs this money and must use it appropriately," he said. Aljak.
Sudan, a country of more than 40 million people, is suffering from an increasingly serious economic crisis that has resulted in cash shortages and long queues in bakeries and petrol stations.
The protesters took to the streets last December following a rise in the price of bread, the staple food of the country of North-East Africa.
The unpopular economic movement provoked widespread anger.
Until recently, the country was under severe sanctions imposed by the United States, which lasted two decades and was lifted in October 2017.
Follow Hamza Mohamed on Twitter: @Hamza_Africa
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