The Sudanese police fired tear gas at demonstrators on Thursday to scatter them. Hundreds participated in a rally that attempted to reach the presidential palace and demand the step down of Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir who held talks with Qatari officials on Thursday.
Thousands of demonstrators responded to the call by the Sudanese Professionals Association (SPA) to protest in 17 sites.
The Association has been spearheading the protests since mid-Dec through determining the place and time. However, Wednesday’s protests were different since SPA called for protesting in various locations simultaneously.
Apparently, this came as a response to National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS) General Salah Abdallah Gosh challenging demonstrators to protest in several places at the same time – in an attempt to undermine their quantity.
Khartoum transferred into a city of ghosts in which 90 percent of stores were shut and streets became traffic-free - there were only the four-wheel vehicles of security bodies and other vehicles of people masked wearing civil clothes.
The tear-gas didn’t stop protesters. Instead, they scattered on wide scopes in the capital and other cities. They shouted “freedom, peace and justice”, the main slogan of the protest movement, and “overthrow, overthrow”.
In a related matter, one member of Sudan's National Intelligence and Security Service was killed on Wednesday night in a clash between members of the service and army troops in Port Sudan, a security body said in a statement.
At least 26 people have died in protests that erupted mid-Dec. after a government decision to raise the price of bread. Yet, the authorities blame provokers who infiltrated among protesters to cause chaos.
