Interior Minister: ‘There is no protest in Sudan, we only arrested 700 criminals’

The Sudanese Minister of Interior, Ibrahim Mahmoud Hamid, denies that his country is facing any protest of civilians against the government. The minister who is responsible for the police forces being accused for having killed over 111 people, acknowledged the arrest of about 700 people over the past few days. Speaking to the press on Friday he said: “But the arrest had nothing to do with a protest against the hiking fuel prices, this is organized crime”, as Radio Dabanga quotes the minister. He told the media also that the government “prevented the explosion of fuel station by emptying the tanks to protect the civilians”.  He told the gathered media that the police has filed cases against hundred demonstrators for attacking civilians, looting properties and organized crime.  “This has never happened before in Sudan. The aim is that criminals want to scare the civilians”, he added.The minister confirmed the death of 39 people, but he said that the police is still investigating the cause of their death. He reported that 38 fuel stations were burned and dozens of buses and over hundred vehicles had been destroyed.“This is not a protest, it is plundering by organized criminal groups. We will not allow anyone to sabotage our society and to terrorize citizens. This is considered a red line for the government. I have issued direct instructions to all security institutions, especially the police forces, that we will not tolerate anyone to destabilize the security situation”, Minister Ibrahim Mahmoud Hamid said.Picture: Ibrahim Mahmoud Hamid (Source:Sudan Tribune)