Middle East

Sudan’s anti-austerity protests grow as ruling party’s offices set on fire

Sudanese protesters have set fire to ruling party offices in several cities (Twitter)

Sudanese protesters have set fire to the offices of the country's ruling National Congress party in several cities, amid growing protests over rising living costs on Thursday.

Police used tear gas to disperse protests that have spread from the northeastern labour hub of Atbara on Wednesday, where images of the torched party offices spread across social media.

Thousands came out on the streets of Atbara again on Thursday, despite a state of emergency declared in the city, while the protests also reached the capital Khartoum.

Reuters reported that around 150 protesters shut down a main street in Khartoum and chanted: "The people want the fall of the regime."

Sadiq al-Mahdi, a leading opposition figure, returned to Sudan on Wednesday after nearly a year in self-imposed exile.

The Sudania 24 channel showed images of the National Conference offices in the city of Dongola engulfed in flames.

حرق دار المؤتمر الوطني دنقلا#دنقلا

#مدن_السودان_تنتفض pic.twitter.com/9yLc3cTXUd

— Ali Ahmed (@Zorba_Mu) December 20, 2018

Translation: Burning of the National Conference headquarters in Dongola

A tripling in the cost of bread has fuelled the protests, which turned violent in Atbara after weeks of rising discontent across Sudan, where President Omar al-Bashir announced a series of austerity measures in September.

"I went out to protest because life has stopped in Atbara," a 36-year-old man, who participated in Wednesday's demonstration and asked not to be named, told Reuters on Thursday.

He said he had not been able to buy bread for four days because it was no longer available in the shops.

"Prices have increased and I have still not been able to withdraw my November salary… because of the liquidity crisis. These are difficult conditions that we can't live with, and the government doesn't care about us."

Small protests led by students have sporadically started in different parts of Sudan throughout December, with Radio Dabanga reporting that callers from across the country had said additional police officers had been deployed in anticipation of larger protests.

"The protests began peacefully and then turned to violence and vandalism," Hatem al-Wassilah, governor of the Nile River state, said of Wednesday's demonstrations on Sudania 24.

Sudan's economy was hit hard when the south of the country seceded in 2011. With the secession, Sudan lost three-quarters of its oil output, a crucial source of foreign currency.

In October, Sudan sharply devalued its currency after the government asked a body of banks and money changers to set the exchange rate on a daily basis.

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Discontent in Sudan as economic crisis bites and Bashir imposes austerity

The move led to further price increases and a liquidity crunch, while the gap between the official and black market rates has continued to widen.

At least three people were killed during similar protests against rising bread prices in January.

Sudanese Prime Minister Motazz Moussa tried to reassure citizens on Wednesday, denying bread subsidies would be lifted as part of the austerity measures.

"There will be no lifting of subsidies," Moussa said. "But there will be new policies to direct subsidies to the deserving, as we cannot subsidise the financially able."

He said Sudan's budget for 2019 includes 66bn Sudanese pounds ($1.4bn) in subsidies, with a vast majority of that sum – $1.1bn – allocated to fuel and bread.

Nicknamed the "City of Steel and Fire," the town of Atbara is historically significant for Sudanese workers because it was at the centre of the country's railway system.

The town was home to an active railway workers' union until it was dismantled in the 1980s under the rule of President Gaafar Nimeiry, who came to power in the 1969 military coup.

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