{"id":27613,"date":"2019-01-01T04:23:07","date_gmt":"2019-01-01T04:23:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/?p=27613"},"modified":"2019-01-01T04:23:07","modified_gmt":"2019-01-01T04:23:07","slug":"sudanese-police-clash-with-anti-government-protesters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/?p=27613","title":{"rendered":"Sudanese police clash with anti-government protesters"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

\nKHARTOUM:\u00a0Sudanese police on Monday used tear gas to disperse thousands of protesters shortly after they began to march toward the Nile-side presidential palace in Khartoum to press their demands for President Omar Bashir to step down, according to activists and video postings.<\/p>\n

\nThere were unconfirmed reports of protesters being shot by live ammunition.<\/p>\n

\nVideo clips posted online by activists show pools of blood outside a small eatery in the city center. Another one shows protesters carrying a man whose head and shirt are bloodied. Scores of demonstrators run away as the sound of gunfire is heard.<\/p>\n

\nA female protester\u2019s voice is heard urging others, \u201cdon\u2019t run,\u201d as those around her violently cough from the tear gas.<\/p>\n

\n\u201cI am going to die,\u201d another female voice says.<\/p>\n

\nBefore the clashes erupted, the demonstrators sang the national anthem, chanted \u201cpeaceful!\u201d \u2014 as if to emphasize their non-violent protest.<\/p>\n

\nEarlier Monday, Human Rights Watch urged Bashir\u2019s government to instruct security forces not to use lethal force against protesters, citing independent groups as saying 40 people have been killed since the protests erupted nearly two weeks ago.<\/p>\n

\nThe New York-based group said Sudanese forces have been using tear gas and live ammunition against protesters, as well as beating and arresting many. Scores have been injured and hundreds arrested, it said. Last week, the US, Britain, Norway and Canada said in a joint statement that they have \u201creliable reports\u201d that Sudan\u2019s security forces were using live fire.<\/p>\n

\nMonday\u2019s demonstrations were called for by an umbrella of independent professional unions, which also urged Sudanese to take to the streets across the country.<\/p>\n

\nBashir, who has been in power since he led a 1989 military coup, vowed in a meeting with police commanders Sunday that his government would not tolerate any attempt to undermine the stability and security of Sudan, according to the state news agency.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\u201cThe objective is not to kill the protesters, but … to safeguard the security and stability of citizens,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\u201cPresident Bashir appears to be making public speeches that justify excessive use of force instead of condemning this brutality,\u201d said HRW\u2019s Jehanne Henry. \u201cWith more protests planned, Sudanese authorities should send an unambiguous message to all security forces to respect the rights of protesters and not to use lethal force.\u201d<\/p>\n

\nAmnesty International has said it has \u201creliable reports\u201d that 37 protesters were killed in the first five days of protests, which began on Dec. 19. The government has acknowledged 19 deaths.<\/p>\n

\nMonday\u2019s attempted march on Bashir\u2019s palace is the second such attempt \u2014 thousands tried to reach the white neo-colonial building in central Khartoum last Tuesday, clashing with policemen who used tear gas and batons to disperse them.<\/p>\n

\nAlthough the protesters never reached the palace, their action showed the depth of popular discontent with Bashir\u2019s rule.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\nProtesters numbering in the hundreds or very low thousands gathered in a dozen or so venues across the city Tuesday and fought pitched battles with police for hours before they dispersed after nightfall.<\/p>\n

\nThis time, the unions are urging protesters to stay on the streets until they usher in 2019 so that they can mark the anniversary of Sudan\u2019s independence on Jan. 1, 1956.<\/p>\n

\nSudan\u2019s economy has struggled for most of Bashir\u2019s rule. He has also failed to unite or keep the peace in the religiously and ethnically diverse nation, losing three quarters of Sudan\u2019s oil wealth when the mainly animizt and Christian south seceded in 2011 following a referendum in which southerners voted overwhelmingly in favor of independence.<\/p>\n

\nA year earlier, Bashir, now in his mid-70s, was indicted by the International Criminal Court for genocide in Sudan\u2019s western region of Darfur.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

KHARTOUM:\u00a0Sudanese police on Monday used tear gas to disperse thousands of protesters shortly after they began to march toward the Nile-side presidential palace in Khartoum to press their demands for President Omar Bashir to step down, according to activists and video postings. There were unconfirmed reports of protesters being shot by live ammunition. Video clips…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":27614,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-27613","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-middle_east_news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27613","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=27613"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27613\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/27614"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=27613"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=27613"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=27613"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}