Anti-government rallies in Sudan could spread to war-torn Darfur, organizers said Sunday.
Protests that erupted in the provinces on December 19 after the government tripled the price of bread have escalated into nationwide anti-government rallies, with demonstrators calling for President Omar al-Bashir to resign.
On Sunday, protest organizers called for demonstrations in the capital Khartoum and other towns including Madani, Kosti and Dongola as part of what they have called a "Week of Uprising".
They also urged protests in Niyala and El-Fasher in Darfur, the first such rallies to be called in the region, reported AFP.
Sudanese police fired tear gas at crowds of anti-government protesters in the capital. Demonstrators were seen carrying the Sudanese flag as others held banners bearing the words "peace, justice, freedom", which has become a key slogan in the rallies.
Darfur, a region the size of France, has been torn by violence since 2003 when ethnic minority rebels took up arms against Khartoum, accusing it of economic and political marginalization.
Darfur has remained largely calm since last year, with no anti-government demonstration held so far even as protesters staged hundreds of rallies in other cities that have been swiftly broken up by riot police.
Anti-government demonstrations first erupted in towns and villages before spreading to Khartoum last month.
Although the trigger was the rise in the price of bread, Sudan has faced a mounting economic crisis over the past year, led by an acute shortage of foreign currency.
Repeated shortages of food and fuel have been reported in several cities, including Khartoum, while the cost of food and medicine has more than doubled.
Meanwhile, the government said more than three weeks of protests has left 24 people dead – a casualty toll higher by five from the previous tally announced by authorities.
The General Prosecutor on Saturday said nine of those killed were in Gadaref, a province southeast of Khartoum close to the Ethiopian and Eritrean borders. The rest were killed in Khartoum's twin city of Omdurman and regions north and northeast of the capital.
Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International say at least 40 have been killed in the protests.
