Sudanese answer call for civil disobedience

Armed forces broke through barricades and opened fire on protestors in El Gezira, following calls for peaceful civil disobedience throughout Sudan by the opposition groups’ umbrella body, the Alliance for Freedom and Change (AFC), which has led work strikes, marches, and protest sit-ins for weeks.

A sit-in outside the secretariat of the state government in Wad Madani, capital of El Gezira, was targeted by armed forces yesterday. The forces broke through barricades set up by protestors around the site and detained four people guarding the barriers.

In a speech at the Wad Madani Grand Market, protestors said that the armed forces opened fire on the protesters at the taxi and mini-van station, resulting in multiple injuries.

The also said they have restored the barricade and condemned attempts of the armed forces to break up the sit-in.

They explained that the protesters seized one member of the armed forces and handed them over to the city’s military offices in Wad Madani.

Sugar company sit-in

On Thursday, the employees of Kenana Sugar Company in the White Nile State continued their sit-in in fornt of the Kenana military garrison for the third day in a row protesting corruption, nepotism, and arbitrary dismissal of several workers. The workers said they will lift the strike if their memorandum receives a response from the commander of Kenana military garrison.

Witnesses told Radio Dabanga that the people of Kenana town joined the protest.

Oil company protest

On Wednesday, the employees of Petronid Company at the oil fields of Heglig in West Kordofan launched peaceful march to the military commander, after a security officer forcibly transferred activists connected to ongoing protests in Sudan working for the company to another field and threatened them. The employees demanded the removal of security officers from the company and area.

Lab technicians strike

Laboratory technicians in Red Sea state have begun to strike for consistent services and wage improvement. 61 temporary laboratory technicians handed a memorandum to the insurance department of the state’s Health Ministry demanding improvement of their salaries by 40 percent.

Elsewhere

The Sudanese Doctor’s Central Committee has confirmed the continuation of the medics’ strike, which began 138 days ago for non-emergency cases in all government hospitals in all states of Sudan.

In a statement on Thursday, they conditioned lifting the strike with reaching civilian governance in Sudan.

On Thursday, teachers of El Geneina in West Darfur carried out a protest. The sit-ins in front of the army command in El Gedaref in eastern Sudan and in Nyala in South Darfur continued, while the sit-in in El Fula, capital of West Kordofan has entered its fifth day.

Call of AFC

Khaled Omar, deputy-head of the Sudanese Congress Party, said at a press conference in Khartoum on Wednesday that the resistance movement the sit-in in the capital Khartoum and the states will definitely continue, calling for preparation for actions of civil disobedience including a comprehensive political strikes. He explained that the AFC will continue to negotiate until power is handed over to civilians only.

“We have all options open from now on,” Ahmed Rabie, an influential SPA member, told Reuters yesterday. “If (the council) insists on holding on to power, we are going to consider this a military coup, and we will escalate our tactics, peacefully.”

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