Sudanese city declares state of emergency over protests

By Husameldin Badawi Ahmed Almayl, Safiye Karabacak and Ali Semerci

KHARTOUM (AA) - Northeastern Sudan's Nile River State declared a state of emergency Wednesday in the city of Atbara in the wake of protests over price increases.

"The state’s security committee held a meeting on the events and announced a state of emergency and imposed a curfew in the city of Atbara until further notice," Ibrahim Mukhtar, a spokesman for the state government, told the local Ashorooq TV channel.

He added that classes at all primary schools and high schools in the city would be suspended.

The decision came after demonstrations were held in the wake of price increases of staples in Sudan, including bread and fuel.

Local media said hundreds of university and high school students supported the protests against the government’s policies.

The local headquarters of the ruling National Congress Party (NCP) had reportedly also been set on fire, although there has been no official statement on the incident so far.

Demonstrations were reportedly held in the eastern city of Port Sudan, where the police used tear gas against protesters.

The cities of North Kordofan and Omdurman also saw demonstrations over the country’s economic situation.

"Any citizen has the right to express his opinion peacefully, but what happened in Atbara is not consistent with the concept of peacefulness," said Ibrahim Al-Siddiq, a spokesman for the NCP.

Al-Siddiq said the protests in Atbara were "an attempt to disturb security and stability", adding "the right of expression of stances and opinions is guaranteed by the constitution, but sabotage is unacceptable."