Sudan demonstrations enter eighth day

Popular demonstrations continued in Sudan on Monday for the eighth consecutive day. The El Ahfad University for Women in Omdurman, the University of Khartoum and the city of Atbara, River Nile state, again witnessed mass demonstrations calling for the downfall of the regime, chanting “People stand up! Your children died for you”, and “Bashir, you have to leave.” One of the protesters speaking to Radio Dabanga from Omdurman said that the students of El Ahfad University for Women organised a massive demonstration. The police surrounded the university and confronted the students with violence. As reported by Radio Dabanga earlier on Monday, 12 students were injured and dozens of others fainted due to the heavy use of tear gas. At the University of Khartoum students of the Faculty of Medicine went on strike. For quite some time they did not meet any confrontation. The chanted slogans like “Hey people stand up! Your children died for you” Atbara In the city of Atbara, River Nile state, there was allegedly a major demonstration demanding the toppling of the regime. The police dispersed them with tear gas and arrested a number of leaders of the National Consensus Forces (NCF – a coalition of opposition parties), according to the spokesman for the NCF, Kamal Omar.  The Governor of Khartoum state, Abdelrahman El Khidir, in a joint press conference with the Interior Minister, Ibrahim Mahmoud, claimed that “putting the blame on security services and the police for the deaths that occurred during the demonstrations means blatant injustice.” The Minister added that proof of this injustice can be found in the attacks on police stations and police posts. He referred to arms stolen from the traffic police station in Halfaya (Khartoum North) and to weapons found buried in Omdurman. He described the situation in Khartoum yesterday as “safe and quiet”. NCF leaders in Khartoum, however, have strongly refuted the statements of the Governor and called him “a liar”. They unanimously confirmed that “the regime and its militias are the ones who opened fire on the demonstrators. They are responsible for the deaths of the protesters,” according to Kamal Omar, the NCF spokesman in an interview with Radio Dabanga. He explained that “the regime of the National Congress Party has created this climate of tyranny and violence, with the intention to mislead the public opinion. Excesses “If excesses occurred here and there, it is the regime that initiated the violence, and has to bear the responsibility for it.” Omar said that he was surprised by the statistics presented by the police, reporting only 33 killed in Khartoum state and one in Gezira state. He reported that the real number lies around 250 deaths. “The mortuary of southern Khartoum alone received 40 bodies.” The spokesman, on behalf of NCF, appealed to the Sudanese people to hold peaceful demonstrations to challenge “the violent repression practiced by the security services.” He continued by saying that “the regime still has a chance, by accepting the formation of an interim government, that would work on the transition to democracy. The alternative is a popular revolt which will uproot this regime.” Omar confirmed that more than 1,000 protesters are detained and announced the formation of a “defence force” for the detainees in order to “debunk mock trials.” SRF On Monday, the Sudan Revolutionary Front (SRF) released a statement confirming that the SRF is “at the disposal of the Sudanese people, in order to topple the regime and to build a new democratic society.” The president of the SRF, Malik Agar, called for the cooperation of all political forces to develop further methods of civil disobedience, such as political strikes, in order to overthrow the regime, “no matter how much time it will take.” He added that the SRF, together with the young activists, political party members, and women organisations, have established an “operation room for the necessary coordination”. Agar confirmed that the SRF is following the developments of the political situation on a daily basis and will do anything possible to topple the regime. The SRF is prepared for action during the coming months. The SRF joint military command will “develop a military to enhance the peaceful uprising and accelerate the process of change,” he added. News photo: Students demonstrate at El Ahfad University for Women in Omdurman on Monday (Twitter/Flickr)