National strike shuts-down much of Sudan

Tuesdays saw a mass one-day civil disobedience action in the Sudanese capital of Khartoum where the streets were unusually free of traffic and pedestrians.

Various areas in Khartoum state were unusually free of passers-by and vehicles, shops in the markets, pharmacies, and offices of private sector companies were closed and empty. Large numbers of Sudanese in the capital stayed home and others went to work but without performing tasks on the day of the strike, called by the Sudanese Professionals Association and the other signatories to the Declaration of Freedom and Change

More marches are planned on Thursday for a second round of the Sudanese women's march in Khartoum and the states to demand the immediate step-down of Al Bashir and his regime.

Professionals in Khartoum, Kassala and White Nile states carried out a one-day strike in response to the of the signatories to the Declaration on Freedom and Change.

Doctors and medical personnel carried out sit-ins in 11 hospitals in Khartoum, Kassala and White Nile states in conjunction with a strike on non-emergency cases that entered its third month.

Hospitals

Bahri Hospital, Ibrahim Malik Hospital, El Bashayer Hospital, East Nile Hospital, Taha Baashar Hospital and Asia Hospital in Khartoum, along with hospitals in Kassala and New Halfa in eastern Sudan, El Andalus Clinic in Kosti and Um Jebel Hospital in the White Nile state witnessed protests on Tuesday in commitment to the call of the signatories of the Declaration of Freedom and Change.

The doctors of Kassala Teaching Hospital declared a comprehensive strike from carrying out any activity in the hospital because the of the security forces’ detention of Dr Ahmed El Khidir from the front of the hospital gate after the vigil and confirmed their continuation of the strike until his release.

Pharmacies closed

The Sudanese Pharmacists Association announced the success of the pharmacists' strike yesterday by 85 per cent.

The strike included all the pharmaceutical sectors in various disciplines including the community pharmacists, pharmacists of companies, pharmacists of government hospitals, clinical pharmacists, factory pharmacists and academics in Greater Khartoum, Wad Madani and many other Sudanese towns.

A large number of private pharmacies in the capital, especially in the Khartoum districts of El Kalakla and El Halfaya closed for work and closed their services to the public.

Employees and workers in a number of private sector companies including Zain Telecom, Ericsson, Sakhr Cement Factory, El Salama Insurance Company organised protest accompanied with the strike of the private sector companies.

Students and youths

The students of El Ahfad University for Women in Omdurman, the Kibeida International school in Khartoum, and El Aytam secondary school in Nuba Mountains also joined the strike.

On Tuesday, the youths of Sennar organised a demonstration in a number of districts. The demonstrators chanted slogans calling for the overthrow of the regime, denouncing the State of Emergency and the suppression of peaceful demonstrators.