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News > World

Sudan: Protesters Urge President Omar al-Bashir to Step Down

  • Sudanese demonstrators participate in anti-government protests in Khartoum, Sudan Jan. 17, 2019.

    Sudanese demonstrators participate in anti-government protests in Khartoum, Sudan Jan. 17, 2019. | Photo: Reuters

Published 18 January 2019
Opinion

Security forces violently halted demonstrations that tried to reach the government palace.

Sudanese citizens marched to the government palace in Khartoum, the country's capital Thursday to attempt to give President Omar al-Bashir a memorandum demanding his exit from office and a peaceful transition of power.

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Sudan: 30 Consecutive Days of Protests Besiege President

More than a thousand people chanted slogans such as "The revolution is the people's choice " and "The people want change," before the security forces confronted the protesters with force.

This is not the first time marches have been held near the presidential palace, but protesters never managed to get close to the building in previous times.

Sudanese police were deployed at government buildings and the presidential headquarters, while protesters blocked several streets in Khartoum's downtown to prevent the arrival of reinforcement personnel.

Hundreds of citizens were arrested during the protests that were organized by the Sudanese Professionals Association (SPA) to bring together non-official union groups and lead the anti-al-Bashir movement over the past month.

Hasan al Baker, a SPA member, said there were also protests in the states of Gizera, Al Qadarif and Sennar. In all the demonstrations, however, the police eventually dispersed the marches with violence.

“The number of people demonstrating is rising because of the government's violence,” TodayNg reported and added that at least 816 people have been arrested, so far.

Sudan's presidential assistant, Faisal Hassan Ibrahim, urged young people to be "positive" and not respond to "calls that hurt the country," adding that President al-Bashir is willing to talk with young people to pay attention to their needs.

These statements were aimed at halting the revolt's main force, the Sudanese youth. After a month of continuous protests, which began by expressing discontent to basic products scarcity and inflation, demonstrations have become a wide-spread movement against President al-Bashir, a 75-year-old ruler who has made no concessions.

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