Street clashes continued in the Sudanese capital Khartoum for a second day Sept. 26 after massive protests broke out over the regime's move to cut fuel subsidies. At least 30 have been killed, and protestors have taken up the slogans of the Arab Revolutions, "Freedom, Freedom!" and "The people want the fall of the regime!" The regime has suspended Internet access for 48 hours in a bid to head off new demonstrations that have been called for after Friday prayers. Authorities say that police are among the dead, and that armed militants from the Sudan Revolutionary Front (SRF) are infiltrating and inciting the protests. Opposition figures, in turn, accuse agents of the National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS) of being behind arson attacks on government buildings and public buses. (Sudan Tribune, Sept. 26; BBC News, Sept. 25)
The SRF was formed in 2011 as a coalition of rebel groups in Darfur, South Kordofan, Blue Nile and Eastern Sudan (Beja), pleding to overthrow the National Congress Party regime "using all available means" and establish a secular state. The SRF issued a statement in support of similar protests that broke out in Sudan last year. (IRIN, July 26, 2012)
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IMF squeeze behind Sudan unrest
As protests in Sudan entered their sixth day Sept. 28, police opened fire on the funeral procession of a slain protester, leaving several injured. Demonstrators called President Omar al-Bashir a “killer.” (Al Jazeera) An International Monetary Fund team assigned to Sudan has lauded the country’s draft 2013-4 budget, which imposes the fuel subsidy cuts in response to the IMF’s recommendations. (Sudan Tribune, Sept. 27; IBT, Sept. 25)