Protests over soaring prices of bread reached Thursday the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, where police fired tear gas to disperse demonstrators near the Presidential Palace.
According to the latest counts, eight people were killed and dozens were injured across the country during clashes between protesters and riot police.
The Sudanese authorities declared a state of emergency in at least four cities, but remained silent on the latest developments and the number of victims.
Demonstrations first emerged Wednesday in the cities of Atbara, al-Damir and Berber in the north, in Port Sudan in the east and El Nahud in the west and spread the next day to Al-Kadarif in the east, Kosti and Sinar in the south and Dongola in the north, according to a statement issued by the opposition National Ummah Party.
They were sparked by a government decision to raise the price of bread from one Sudanese pound to three.
Thursday’s demonstrations witnessed a “symbolic burning” of office owned by the ruling National Congress Party (NCP) of President Omar al-Bashir and some public institutions.
Demonstrators in Al-Qadarif "threw stones at banks (in the city center) and smashed cars," resident Tayeb Omar Bashir told AFP by phone.
Observers expected the pace of protests to increase in Khartoum when worshipers leave mosques following the Friday prayers.
A large number of police personnel were deployed in several parts of the city, as others in civilian uniforms were seen driving pick-up trucks and holding light arms.
Hatem al-Wassilah, the governor of the Nile River state, said protesters set on fire the headquarters of the ruling party and a public institution building.
A 36-year-old man who participated in Wednesday's demonstration and asked not to be identified, told Reuters on Thursday that he had not been able to buy bread for four days because it was no longer available in the shops.
"Prices have increased and I have still not been able to withdraw my November salary... because of the liquidity crisis. These are difficult conditions that we can't live with, and the government doesn't care about us,” he said.
NCP spokesman Ibrahim Al-Siddiq said any citizen has the right to express his opinion peacefully, but what happened in Atbara is not consistent with the concept of peacefulness.
