Sudan: Protests Rumble on as Bashir Remains Defiant

Local Editor

A month after protests erupted across Sudan against rising bread prices, anti-government demonstrations turned into daily rallies against a defiant President Omar al-Bashir who rejected every call to resign.

Protest organizers called for a march on the presidential palace in the capital Khartoum on Thursday, along with simultaneous demonstrations in several other cities.

Authorities said at least 24 people died since the protests first broke out on December 19 after a government decision to triple the price of bread.

Relatively, Human Rights Watch put the death toll at 40, including children and medical staff.

The protests escalated into nationwide anti-government demonstrations that experts said pose the biggest challenge to Bashir since he took power in a coup in 1989.

Protests initially broke out in the eastern town of Atbara, which has a history of anti-government sentiment, and within days spread to other provinces and then to Khartoum.

Cities like Port Sudan, Gadaref, Kassala and agricultural regions that previously backed Bashir saw protests calling for him to step down, while the western region of Darfur too witnessed rallies against the 75-year-old veteran leader.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team