Khartoum protest: Woman suffocated by teargas

A woman died on Thursday due to suffocation by the teargas riot police used to disperse demonstrators in El Jireif East, a neighbourhood in northern Khartoum.

Hundreds of residents went out on the streets on Wednesday morning to demonstrate against the removal of historic brick factories and the removal of their houses. They burned tires and blocked the main road. The police used large amounts of teargas to draw back the protesters.

Two demonstrators were seriously wounded when the riot police fired live ammunition at the crowd.

The police also used teargas in the residential areas, and a witness said that some residents fainted because the smoke entered their houses.

One woman, Zeinab Zein El Nakhali, suffocated in her house and went into a coma. She was transferred to a hospital, where she died on Thursday. El Nakhali previously suffered from pulmonary and heart problems.

A listener told Radio Dabanga that the neighbourhood was the scene of sporadic, small demonstrations on Friday. Residents piled up tires of vehicles and burned them on the road leading through El Jireif East.

The residences and brick factories have stood in the neighbourhood for a long time and are considered historical. The Sudanese authorities have sold the plots to investors, who will allegedly construct modern residences after removing the factories and the old houses.

The authorities have planned to relocate the original residents to another area, despite their claim to have the ownership over their land.

Continue reading about the demonstration against land selling