Sudanese security forces used tear gas in an attempt to clear up demonstration by protesters in front of the defence ministry in central Khartoum on Monday. According to witnesses, tens of thousands of peaceful anti-government demonstrators camped for more than 48 hours in central Khartoum. They are demanding the president, Omar al-Bashir, who seized power in a military coup in 1989, to step down.
Residents could smell the tear gas smoke in an affluent district about three miles (5km) away from the army complex.
“I stepped out on my balcony hearing the sound of the gas canisters and could feel the gas in the air,” said one resident, reported The Guardian.
The protests first erupted in December last year against the government’s decision to triple the price of bread. It soon evolved into nationwide demonstrations against Bashir’s rule. While the momentum of the protests have slowed down in part because of a state of emergency imposed in February and fierce repression, but the demonstrators are still not ready to bow down. They flooded the centre of Khartoum on Saturday urging the country’s military to back their demands for Bashir’s resignation.
As per reports coming from AFP news agency, the army deployed troops around its headquarters in the capital and blocked several roads leading to the complex, where protesters have amassed since Saturday. At least five demonstrators have been killed in the weekend protests amid a fierce security crackdown that has also involved live fire.
President Bashir had imposed emergency rule on February 22 after an initial crackdown failed to rein in the protests. He acknowledged that the protesters have legitimate demands but said that the way to address these demands is through peaceful means and the ballot box.
The Sudanese leader’s term ends in 2020 and he has repeatedly promised over the years not to make new runs for the presidency.
