Sudan authorities disperse anti-inflation demonstration

By Burham Abdel-Moneim

KHARTOUM (AA) - Sudanese security forces on Wednesday broke up a demonstration held in the city of Bahri (Khartoum North) to protest rampant inflation.

According to eyewitnesses, police cordoned off a main public square in Bahri’s Al-Shaabiya neighborhood, where they detained dozens of protesters.

“Whoever was shouting slogans in the square -- men or women -- were detained,” one eyewitness, who preferred anonymity for security reasons, told Anadolu Agency.

Wednesday’s protest was the third of its kind in two weeks to be organized by Sudanese opposition parties.

Skyrocketing commodity prices in Sudan have recently led to an outpouring of public anger, especially after wheat-flour prices jumped by a whopping 200 percent earlier this year.

The Sudanese government, for its part, has condemned the wave of demonstrations, vowing to punish those found guilty of vandalizing public property or taking part in “unauthorized gatherings”.