Sudan: Sporadic protests against fuel price hikes

In the Sudanese capital, Nyala in South Darfur, and Atbara in the River Nile state, students took to the streets on Sunday and again today in protest against the recent increases in fuel and electricity prices.

Police dispersed the demonstrators with tear gas and batons. An unknown number of students were detained.

On Thursday evening, Minister of Finance and Economic Planning Badreldin Mahmoud announced the liberalisation of fuel prices and an increase in electricity tariffs. The measures took immediate effect.

The Minister said that the measures are part of the economic reform programme that will reduce government expenditures and save hard currency reserves. Any reform has its price, he said.

The transportation tariffs started to soar immediately on Friday. The price increases range around 50 per cent.

As reported by Radio Dabanga earlier today, Sudan’s opposition parties are calling for intifada, and on the people of the country to stage mass protests against the price increases.

In Burri Ellamab in Khartoum, a small group of protesters was dispersed by police on Sunday evening.

Dispersed by force

A large number of students of the University of Khartoum staged a demonstration this morning. The police dispersed them by force. About 50 students suffered from respiratory problems because of the excessive use of tear gas, one of the protesters reported to Radio Dabanga on Monday.

A number of students, including Doha Adel, Ahmad Kamareldin, Mohamed Kheir Yousef, and Abdelrahman Sakour were detained, he said.

In the South Darfur capital, a group of secondary school students in Nyala also took to the streets this morning in protest against the price hikes. The police dispersed the students by force, a listener reported from Nyala.

Rickshaw

The price of a trip with a motor tricycle rickshaw rose to SDG5 ($0.80). “It used to be SDG2,” he complained.

He added that the authorities have stationed large number of heavily armed police forces in public places in Nyala.

In Wad Madani, the capital of El Gezira state, a small group of people staged a demonstration on Sunday evening. The police stopped them by force. Shamseldin Hamid sustained injuries, another protester told Radio Dabanga. Mohamed El Ameen Makhou, member of the Democratic Unionist Party’s Politburo was detained.