SUDAN: Security forces clash with demonstrators in cities

Sudanese security forces clashed with protesters in three cities on Sunday as demonstrations against Omar al-Bashir’s rule continued for a fourth week, witnesses said. In Khartoum North, across the Blue Nile from the center of the capital, security forces chased groups of protesters down side streets and fired tear gas to disperse demonstrations in several […]

Sudanese security forces clashed with protesters in three cities on Sunday as demonstrations against Omar al-Bashir’s rule continued for a fourth week, witnesses said.

In Khartoum North, across the Blue Nile from the center of the capital, security forces chased groups of protesters down side streets and fired tear gas to disperse demonstrations in several areas, a Reuters witness said.

They also confronted protesters with tear gas in Wad Medani, the capital of Gezira state, southeast of the capital, and for the first time in Nyala, the main city in South Darfur, witnesses said.

Protests triggered by an economic crisis have rippled across Sudan since Dec. 19 in the most sustained challenge yet to Bashir’s close to 30-year rule.

Security forces have used live ammunition and tear gas to break up demonstrations, as well as arresting protesters and opposition figures.