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Sudan: Protests bring the capital to a standstill | ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English Archive 2005 -2017
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Family members and friends gather for the funeral of Salah Mudathir, 28, killed the day before in clashes following protests in the Sudanese capital Khartoum, on September 28, 2013. (AFP PHOTO /ASHRAF SHAZLY)


Family members and friends gather for the funeral of Salah Mudathir, 28, killed the day before in clashes following protests in the Sudanese capital Khartoum, on September 28, 2013. (AFP PHOTO /ASHRAF SHAZLY)

Family members and friends gather for the funeral of Salah Mudathir, 28, killed the day before in clashes following protests in the Sudanese capital Khartoum, on September 28, 2013. (AFP PHOTO /ASHRAF SHAZLY)

Khartoum/London, Asharq Al-Awsat—Protests over cuts in fuel subsidies recently introduced by the government of Omar Al-Bashir have entered its third day, paralyzing the Sudanese capital of Khartoum.
The protests are the largest the country has seen ever since Al-Bashir came to power in 1989.
Unrest soon spread to other Sudanese cities that witnessed riots and acts of sabotage leaving at least 20 civilians dead, medical sources told Asharq Al-Awsat.
The source that spoke on the condition of anonymity said that most of the casualties were targeted by live rounds in the head and heart.
Thousands of protestors set fire to cars, 20 petrol stations and one bank, blocking main roads by setting tires on fire.
In what appeared like an undeclared civil disobedience shops and businesses closed in the center of the capital which was cut off from the rest of the city.
Angry protestors held banners demanding bringing down Bashir regime in several key cities including Khartoum.
The government stepped up its security measures near banks and the headquarters of the ruling National Congress Party (NCP) and Sudanese media sources said that schools and universities would be shut for a week.
The internet and mobile services were said to have been down for the last three days, yet the government has not commented on the outage.
Reportedly, the government has ordered the military forces to come to streets in a bid to put an end to crush the protests.
Speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat Army spokesman Col. Asl-Saarmi Khaled denied such reports saying: “No orders have been issued by any [military] leaders to break up the protests.”
Sudan’s First Vice President Ali Osman Taha announced on Wednesday that the government would not go back on its decisions regarding the lifting of fuel sibsidies.
Taha said that his government did not reject peaceful demonstrations but would not tolerate with what he called the “saboteurs.”
The first vice president threatened to let supporters of the ruling party to the streets “to protect public and private property from saboteurs.”
The government still does not recognize any protests and demonstrations and describe the events as acts of sabotage carried out by a small group of “homeless” people, accusing the opposition of taking advantage of the recent price hikes to instigate the citizens.