Sit-ins, strikes continue across Sudan

A number of Resistance Committees coordinators in Omdurman on Wednesday gave the Sudanese government a deadline of five days to resolve the ongoing bread crisis. They threaten to escalate the protests if a solution is not found.

The coordination committees of Old Omdurman, Ombadda, and Karari are to immediately stop the expansion of commercial bakeries and cancel their licenses, and announced their rejection of any approach to lift the subsidies on bread.

The Supply Investigation Police “should be fully enabled to control, starting with the flour mills and ending with the bakeries, in addition to enacting strict laws that deter any abuse, whether by the police or those involved in smuggling flour.

“What our country is going through these days in terms of a very severe crisis in their livelihood from the bread crisis is very unfortunate, and all those scenes of the Sudanese standing for hours in order to get a loaf of bread is humiliating and avoidable and cannot be tolerated.”

The statement emphasised that the lack of transparency from the government towards the people due to the public opinion’s lack of ownership of what is happening in the ministries of finance, industry and commerce, the mills, the cause of the crisis and how to pass through it, “which is very shameful and does not come close to an inch to the demands of the glorious December revolution”.

Harassment, searches

In eastern Sudan, members of Resistance Committees active in the neighbourhoods of El Gedaref reported that they had been subjected to harassment, searches, and humiliation by a joint military force.

Activists said that the force consisting of members of the army, Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia, and police, in four vehicles entered their daily meeting place in El Malek district, searched them, and told them not to meet anymore.

In Khartoum, activists accused the police of carrying out a campaign to shave the hair of young activists. The police denied this in a statement, describing it as an isolated incident.

A statement by the police spokesperson said that the initial fact-finding concluded that the shaving incident is individual for a citizen and the concerned citizen submitted a complaint while it is under consideration and investigation, and called for similar cases to submit complaints accompanied by evidence and witnesses.

The statement denied the existence of an approach or guidance on this matter, explaining that it is not within the jurisdiction of the police.

The police service affirmed its keenness to improve the relationship with the public and society and said that it would meet its employees who do not adhere to this approach, with strict and decisive measures.

Northern State sit-in

In Northern State, the open sit-in in El Borgeig entered its 17th day without any response by the authorities to the demands concerning the removal of corrupt officials affiliated with the regime of ousted President Omar Al Bashir.

Suheib Osman, leading member of the Forces for Freedom and Change, told Radio Dabanga that the public address by the Resistance Committees at the market of El Borgeig represents the first step for the announced escalation.

The activists of the small El Borgeig locality have put in place several options for escalation that will be announced within the next 48 hours.

Osman as well reported the continuation of the fuel and bread crises, as well as farmers’ complaints about not receiving fuel rations for the current winter season.

Khartoum legal advisers

In Khartoum, the legal advisers at the Ministry of Justice decided to engage in an open-ended strike from next Sunday until the implementation of their demands, which they said were submitted to the Sovereign Council and the Council of Ministers, to intervene in a remedy to oblige the Ministry of Finance to implement the advisors’ allocations and to abide by the rule of law and implement the salary structure approved by the Sovereign Council according to the decision 227 of 2020 and adherence to the fatwa issued by the Attorney General of the Republic of Sudan, and the guidance of the Minister of Cabinet Affairs, no later than Thursday.

The statement emphasised that rights are taken and not given, and they are not a gift or a spoil, but rather an inevitable result of fulfilling the duty, for right and duty go hand in hand.

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