An estimated 200 people have been killed by government forces in protests spreading across Sudan, according to activists and sources within the country.
More than 120 of those deaths came in Khartoum, where protesters are setting fire to petrol stations and engaging with police attempting to quell the demonstrations.
The protests began Monday in Medani, Gezira State, and have since spread to Khartoum, Omdurman, Port Sudan, El Obeid, Kassala, Gadarif and several other cities. The demonstrators are protesting Khartoum’s decision to lower subsidies on fuel in Sudan. With lower subsidies, the prices of diesel, petrol, benzene and several other types of fuel nearly doubled overnight.
On Wednesday, countrywide internet service was shut down, though it was not immediately clear whether this was due to a government decision or a technical problem. Service has returned sporadically, but was shut down again as of Friday afternoon.
Protesters allegedly killed by Sudanese security forces. This image could not be independently verified
On Thursday government authorities downplayed the protests, saying they were limited to Khartoum and Medani and being carried out by criminals. Authorities in Medani blamed the protests on the Sudan Revolutionary Front.While the full scope of the protests is not yet known, photos and video emerging from Facebook and other social media suggest a harsh government response to the demonstrations. While they cannot be independently verified, pictures dated as recently as Friday, September 27 appear to show women and young men lying in pools of blood in Khartoum and Omdurman. Several videos show hundreds running from police as gunfire rings out in the background.
Many claim they have been arrested by the government and charged with disturbing the peace, including human rights activists and Sudanese novelist Rania Mamoun. On her Facebook page, Mamoun posted pictures of eye and body injuries she allegedly received at the hands of security forces. A picture of another man, bloodied, with massive head wounds, has also been posted on her page.
This is not the first time protests have swept through Khartoum and other northern cities in Sudan. Since 2011 there have been several protests organized around the rising cost of living.
These past protests were organized in large part by Girifna, a Sudanese opposition group, and several other opposition organizations. But the protests this time are not being organized. “What separates this new wave of protests from previous ones is that the protests are not led, coordinated or mobilized by known political factions or youth movements,” Girifna said in a report released on their website.
The protests and violence show no signs of slowing. Sources in Medani report street battles between protesters and police as the death toll continues to climb. There are also reports that some Sudanese Army soldiers have refused to take part in government efforts to stop the demonstrations. Often in Sudan, large public demonstrations take place after friday prayers. Activists expect today’s protests to dwarf those of the previous four days.
(The video in this report was provided by activists and can not be independently verified)
