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By AGENCE FRANCE PRESSE, Khartoum, Sudan, April 8 – The Sudanese army has deployed around its headquarters in Khartoum on Monday as thousands of protesters urging the army to join calls for the resignation of leader Omar al-Bashir have prevented the outbreak of tear gas to manifest for the third day, said witnesses.
Since protests erupted in Sudan in December, agents of the powerful National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS) and riot police have cracked down on protesters, but the army has not intervened. .
The protesters camped around the military compound – which also houses Bashir's residence and the Ministry of Defense – on Saturday as part of the biggest anti-government protests in months.
Witnesses said soldiers were building barricades in the streets near the compound after NISS staff and police failed to dislodge protesters.
Several vehicles carrying intelligence and riot police arrived Monday morning at the protest site, witnesses told AFP.
"After that, security forces started firing tear gas at protesters," a witness said on condition of anonymity.
Shots were also heard, witnesses said, but it was difficult to know who shot.
Residents of a clbady district of Khartoum, five kilometers from the army complex, felt the gas.
"I went out on my balcony hearing the sound of the gas cans and I could smell the gas in the air," said one resident.
A few hours later, security forces again fired tear gas at protesters, witnesses said.
The protest organizers urged residents of Khartoum and surrounding areas to join protesters who have been on the street for three days.
"The regime's security forces are trying to disperse the sit-in by force," said the organizers of the Alliance for Freedom and Change in a statement.
"We call on everyone around Khartoum to gather there to protect our people on the ground."
– "Unprecedented" –
The rally in front of the headquarters of the army is the largest since the beginning of the demonstrations on December 19 in Atbara, in the city center, and has spread rapidly to the capital and to the towns and villages of the country. .
In chanting anti-government slogans, the protesters urged the military to support them in their bid to resign from Bashir.
The European Union said that an "unprecedented" number of people had come to claim a change since Saturday.
"The Sudanese people have shown remarkable resilience to extraordinary obstacles over the years," said the European Service for External Action.
"Their trust must be won by concrete actions of the government."
The protesters blame the Bashir administration for economic mismanagement that has led to soaring food prices and a regular shortage of fuel and currency.
The Sudanese security council said Sunday that protesters' demands "must be heard" after a meeting chaired by the veteran leader.
The demonstration coincided with a national power failure due to a technical problem.
The first demonstrations took place in Sudan in December after the government's decision to triple the price of bread.
But they quickly turned into nationwide protests against Bashir's three-decade regime.
According to officials, 32 people have already died in violence related to the protests, while Human Rights Watch has estimated the number at 51.
In recent weeks, the scale and intensity of the demonstrations had decreased due to the state of emergency imposed by Bashir, but Saturday saw a resurgence: thousands of people headed for to the army headquarters.
The organizers of the protest chose April 6 for the rally marking the 1985 uprising that overthrew the regime of the then president, Jaafar Nimeiri.
Bashir, wanted by the International Criminal Court in The Hague for alleged war crimes and genocide in the war-torn Darfur region, was brought to power by a 1989 Islamist-backed coup d'etat.
He remained provocative, introducing harsh measures that arrested protesters, opposition leaders, activists and journalists.
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