Sudan uprising continues – tear gas fired into mosque

Demonstrations demanding the unconditional departure of Al Bashir and his regime have continue in cities and towns across Sudan. Tear gas was fired into a mosque in Omdurman, and hundreds of people in Khashm El Girba in Kassala went out in mass demonstrations after Friday prayers, demanding the overthrow of the regime and the punishment of the killers of teacher Ahmed El Kheir*.

Witnesses told Radio Dabanga that the demonstration began at the house of El Kheir to the security and police offices.

Khartoum

In greater Khartoum, worshipers also took to the streets after Friday prayers. In Omdurman, demonstrations started from mosques of Wad Nubawi, Beit El Mal, and El Muhandisin, in Khartoum from El Kalakla, Jabra, El Waha East, Burri and El Jereif West, along with Shambat in Khartoum North.

Witnesses told Radio Dabanga that security forces fired tear gas into the Beit El Mal mosque during the Friday sermon and pursued the protestors down the alleys of the old district. They pointed to the use excessive violence to disperse the demonstrators.

Sugdan in Northern State and Teibat El Sheikh El Gurashi in El Gezira witnessed demonstrations as well. Hundreds of people took part in demonstrations calling for the step-down of Al Bashir and his regime from power.

Sudan uprising

On 19 December 2018, rising bread and fuel prices sparked protests in Atbara in North-Eastern Sudan. In less than a week’s time, the anti-government protests spread across the entire country and were answered with brutal violence by the Sudanese security forces. Multiple sources have confirmed that tear gas and live ammunition is being used against demonstrators. Human Rights Watch reported that Sudanese activists estimate atleast 50 people have been killed since the start of the protests.

*Ahmed El Kheir was a teacher from Khashm El Girba in Kassala who was held after demonstrations in the town on January 31. Reports emerged that National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS) officers had detained him from his home and taken him to a security detention centre where they brutally tortured him. Following his death, the authorities in Kassala said that the teacher had felt sick during interrogation.

The new report by the committee attributed the death of El Kheir to fatal complications of his injuries that caused his death. Chairman Amer Mohamed Ibrahim said that the teacher was transferred from a security unit in Khasm El Girba to the NISS headquarters in Kassala. He died during transport.