Sudan press gagged, journalist’s home stormed

Yesterday, Sudan’s National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS) banned the edition of El Watan newspaper and the family home of the newspaper’s chairman was attacked by a group of masked men.

The authorities also banned El Baath newspaper, mouthpiece of the Baath Party from publication on Monday.

El Jareeda newspaper has also been unable to publish for some time, after it insisted on highlighting the facts related to the mass public protests and rejected the directives of the security apparatus to delete them.

A group of masked men stormed the house of chairman Sayed Khalifa in El Sajana in Khartoum during demonstrations in the neighbourhood.

The son of Khalifa said that a number of youths in the neighbourhood set fire to tyres of some vehicles, in protest against Al Bashir. A group of masked men chased the protesters, who sought refuge in the house, and beat them and all the members of the house.

The past weeks, various sources reported to Radio Dabanga that masked men driving vehicles without plates, abusing, detaining, and shooting with live ammunition at protesters, are active in addition to members of the riot police and the security apparatus in the Sudanese capital and a number of state capitals.