24 December 2018•Update: 24 December 2018
By Husameldin Badawi Ahmed Almayl and Afra Aksoy
KHARTOUM, Sudan
Demonstrations erupted on Monday in Sudan’s province of Gezira over the deteriorating economic conditions in the country.
Eyewitnesses told Anadolu Agency the protests erupted in al-Manaqil and Rufaa cities over price hike and shortage of basic commodities.
Police used tear gas and batons to disperse demonstrators and arrested some of them.
The state-run SUNA news agency reported that President Omar al-Bashir will pay a visit to Gezira tomorrow to announce “a series of new development projects”.
Meanwhile, doctors working in 28 hospitals across nine states of Sudan, including capital Khartoum, are planning to go on a strike to support the ongoing demonstrations in the country.
Violent demonstrations erupted last Wednesday in the cities of Atbara and Port Sudan.
In a couple of days, the protests broke out in several cities, including Er-Rahad in northern Sudan, the southern town of Berber and El-Gadarif and El-Obeid in eastern Sudan.
While official estimates put the death toll from the protests at eight, opposition groups say that at least 22 people have been killed in the unrest.
On Sunday, protests broke out in Omdurman, the twin city of the capital Khartoum, and the North and South Kordofan states.
Witnesses said police fired teargas to disperse fans who marched down the center of Khartoum following a football game amid chants against al-Bashir, who has been in power since 1989.
Sudanese authorities have announced a state of emergency and curfew in a number of provinces over the protests, with government officials accusing Israel of plotting with rebel groups to cause violence in the country.
A nation of 40 million people, Sudan has struggled to recover from the loss of three quarters of its oil output – its main source of foreign currency – when South Sudan seceded in 2011.
