Sudan police confront protesters as Bashir rejects accusations

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Sudanese police fired tear gas at hundreds of protesters who tried to march to the parliament on Sunday, as President Omar al-Bashir insisted demonstrators who died in anti-government rallies were not killed by security forces.

Deadly protests which erupted on December 19 after a government decision to triple the price of bread have turned into nationwide rallies against Bashir's three decades' rule.

On Sunday, as the protest movement entered its second month, hundreds of demonstrators attempted to march to the parliament in Omdurman, the twin city of Khartoum, but they were quickly confronted by riot police who fired tear gas, witnesses said.

Late on Sunday residents of Omdurman continued to protest in three areas, according to the Sudanese Professionals Association (SPA), which is leading the protest movement. "Some protesters have fainted from the tear gas, while some are wounded," it added, without elaborating.

Protesters in Omdurman had planned to march on parliament to submit a "memorandum to lawmakers" calling for Bashir's resignation, said the SPA, which represents several unions of doctors, engineers, and teachers.

Witnesses said protests were also staged in the capital's eastern district of Burri – the site of heavy clashes on Thursday – and in the northern suburb of Bahari.

Officials say 26 people, including two security personnel, have died in the protests so far. The protests have emerged as the biggest challenge yet to the authority of President Bashir.

They come as Sudan suffers from an economic crisis driven by an acute shortage of foreign currency and soaring inflation that has more than doubled the price of food and medicines.

Source(s): AFP