Thousands demonstrate in Sudan

Thousands demonstrate in Sudan
Thousands demonstrated Friday (Dec. 28) in nearly two dozen neighborhoods of the Sudanese capital of Khartoum, calling for President Omar Bashir to step down, according to activists, keeping up the pressure on the autocratic general-turned-president who has been in power for nearly 30 years, AP reported.

The activists said hundreds also took to the streets Friday in the railway city of Atbara north of Khartoum, Obeid in the western North Kordofan province, and Senar and Wad Madani south of the capital. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they feared reprisals.

They said police used tear gas to disperse protesters in the Khartoum suburb of Omdurman, a traditional hotbed of dissent. There were no reports of casualties.

Friday's protests were the latest in a wave of demonstrations that began across much of Sudan on Dec. 19, first against price rises and shortages but which later turned against Bashir, in power since a 1989 military coup he led. They coincide with worsening economic woes that saw a currency devaluation spiking prices, fuel shortages and a steep rise in the price of bread, a main fare for most Sudanese.

On Friday, the spokesman for UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said he wanted authorities in Sudan to conduct a "thorough investigation" of the deaths and violence during the protests. "The Secretary-General emphasizes the need to safeguard freedom of expression and peaceful assembly," the spokesman said.

London-based rights group Amnesty International says it has "reliable reports" to show that 37 people were killed in the first five days of unrest. 

On Thursday, the government gave its first casualty figures from the unrest. It said 19 people were killed in the protests and more than 200 protesters were wounded. Nearly 190 members of the security forces were wounded, it added.

As in previous protests, participants numbered in the hundreds or very low thousands, but the continuing defiance of the government in the face of security forces accused of using lethal force indicate a high level of popular discontent.

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