KHARTOUM: A group that is spearheading anti-government protests across Sudan on Saturday said it plans to launch more nationwide rallies over the next few days, including a march on parliament.
Protests have rocked Sudan since December 19, when the government raised the price of bread, and since then have escalated into rallies against President Omar Al-Bashir’s three-decade rule.
The Sudanese Professionals Association, an umbrella group of trade unions, in a statement called for a march on parliament Sunday to submit to lawmakers a memorandum calling for Bashir to step aside.
“We are calling for a march to parliament in Omdurman on Sunday,” it said referring to Khartoum’s twin city where parliament is located.
“The protesters will submit to parliament a memorandum calling on President Bashir to step down,” added the association, which represents the unions of doctors, teachers and engineers.
Over the past month, protesters have staged several demonstrations in Omdurman, on the west bank of the Nile.
Officials say at least 26 people, including two security personnel, have died during a month of protests, while rights group Amnesty International last week put the death toll at more than 40.
The group spearheading the protests said there will also be rallies in Khartoum on Sunday, to be followed by night-time demonstrations on Tuesday in the capital and in Omdurman.
“And on Thursday there will be rallies across all towns and cities of Sudan,” the statement added.
On Friday, hundreds of mourners leaving the funeral of a protester had staged a spontaneous demonstration in the capital’s Burri district, while crowds of Muslim worshippers had launched another rally in a mosque in Omdurman, witnesses said.
Protesters chanting “freedom, peace, justice” have been confronted by riot police with tear gas at several rallies since the first protest erupted in the eastern town of Atbara on December 19 after the rise of bread price.
The government’s tough response has sparked international criticism, while Bashir has blamed the violence on unidentified “conspirators.”
Analysts say the protests have emerged as the biggest challenge to the veteran leader’s rule who swept to power in 1989 in an Islamist-backed coup.
The protests come as Sudan suffers from an economic crisis driven by an acute shortage of foreign currency and soaring inflation that has more than doubled the price of food and medicines.
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Sudan protesters plan march on parliament, more demos
Sudan protesters plan march on parliament, more demos
Trump to decide ‘soon’ on sending weapons to Taiwan
ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE: US President Donald Trump said Monday he would decide soon on whether to send more weapons to Taiwan, after Chinese President Xi Jinping warned him not to do so.
“I’m talking to him about it. We had a good conversation, and we’ll make a determination pretty soon,” Trump said, adding that he has a “good relationship” with the Chinese leader, whose country claims the self-ruled island of Taiwan as its territory.
In a phone call with Trump on February 4, Xi called for “mutual respect” in relations with the United States, while warning Washington about arms sales to the democratically run island.
“The Taiwan question is the most important issue in China-US relations... The US must handle arms sales to Taiwan with caution,” Xi said, according to China’s state broadcaster.
Trump and Xi are due to meet in Beijing in April.
China’s Communist Party has never ruled Taiwan, but Beijing claims the island of 23 million people is part of its territory and has not ruled out the use of force to annex it.
Washington does not officially recognize Taiwan, but is the island territory’s main military backer — although the tone of that support has softened slightly under Trump.
The United States approved $11-billion worth of arms to Taiwan in December, Taipei said.
Shortly thereafter, China launched major live-fire drills to simulate a blockade around Taiwan’s key ports.
While Trump has adopted a softer tone on support for Taiwan in his second term, the issue remains a thorn in US-China relations.
On Saturday, Beijing’s top diplomat Wang Yi warned the United States against “plotting” on Taiwan, saying it could lead to a “confrontation” with China.
Speaking at the Munich Security Conference in Germany, Foreign Minister Wang said that in the future, the United States could adopt a China policy that involves “instigating and plotting to split China through Taiwan, crossing China’s red line.”
Taiwan has spent many billions of dollars upgrading its military in the past decade, but faces growing US pressure to do more to protect itself against China.
Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-te has proposed $40 billion in extra defense spending by his government over eight years, but the plan has been blocked by the opposition-controlled parliament 10 times since early December.
On Thursday, dozens of US lawmakers urged Taiwan’s opposition political parties to end their blocking of the move.
In an exclusive interview with AFP last week, President Lai said he was confident the defense budget would be passed.
“I’m talking to him about it. We had a good conversation, and we’ll make a determination pretty soon,” Trump said, adding that he has a “good relationship” with the Chinese leader, whose country claims the self-ruled island of Taiwan as its territory.
In a phone call with Trump on February 4, Xi called for “mutual respect” in relations with the United States, while warning Washington about arms sales to the democratically run island.
“The Taiwan question is the most important issue in China-US relations... The US must handle arms sales to Taiwan with caution,” Xi said, according to China’s state broadcaster.
Trump and Xi are due to meet in Beijing in April.
China’s Communist Party has never ruled Taiwan, but Beijing claims the island of 23 million people is part of its territory and has not ruled out the use of force to annex it.
Washington does not officially recognize Taiwan, but is the island territory’s main military backer — although the tone of that support has softened slightly under Trump.
The United States approved $11-billion worth of arms to Taiwan in December, Taipei said.
Shortly thereafter, China launched major live-fire drills to simulate a blockade around Taiwan’s key ports.
While Trump has adopted a softer tone on support for Taiwan in his second term, the issue remains a thorn in US-China relations.
On Saturday, Beijing’s top diplomat Wang Yi warned the United States against “plotting” on Taiwan, saying it could lead to a “confrontation” with China.
Speaking at the Munich Security Conference in Germany, Foreign Minister Wang said that in the future, the United States could adopt a China policy that involves “instigating and plotting to split China through Taiwan, crossing China’s red line.”
Taiwan has spent many billions of dollars upgrading its military in the past decade, but faces growing US pressure to do more to protect itself against China.
Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-te has proposed $40 billion in extra defense spending by his government over eight years, but the plan has been blocked by the opposition-controlled parliament 10 times since early December.
On Thursday, dozens of US lawmakers urged Taiwan’s opposition political parties to end their blocking of the move.
In an exclusive interview with AFP last week, President Lai said he was confident the defense budget would be passed.
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