Anti-gov’t protests resume in several parts of Sudan

KHARTOUM (AA) – Capital Khartoum, the city of Omdurman and Sudan’s eastern Kassala State all saw renewed protests on Monday against the country’s steadily deteriorating economic condition.

According to witnesses, hundreds of protesters took to the streets in Khartoum’s Al-Azhari and Mayo districts and in the Abbasiya neighborhood of Omdurman, Sudan’s second largest city.

Demonstrators decried the government’s inability to resolve the country’s chronic financial woes; many shouted slogans calling on President Omar al-Bashir to resign.

Monday’s demonstrations were reportedly organized by the opposition-led Association of Sudanese Professionals.

Activists also shared photos online of demonstrations that erupted in Sudan’s eastern Kassala province, where a teacher was reportedly killed Saturday inside a local police station.

Sudan has been rocked by mass demonstrations since mid-December. While the authorities say around 31 people have been killed in the protests, opposition figures put the number at closer to 50.

Last month, al-Bashir -- in power since 1989 -- pledged to carry out urgent economic reforms amid continued calls by the opposition to protest.

A nation of 40 million, Sudan has struggled to recover from the loss of some three quarters of its oil output -- its main source of foreign currency -- since the secession of South Sudan in 2011.