Sudan detains nine opposition leaders ahead of planned protest

Authorities in Sudan have arrested at least nine opposition leaders and activists, a group of civil society groups said on Friday, ahead of fresh anti-government protests expected after weekly Muslim prayers.

The head of the media office at the National Intelligence and Security Service denied any knowledge of the arrests.

Sudan has been rocked by more than a week of anti-government protests sparked by rising prices, shortages of basic commodities and a cash crisis. At least 19 people have died during the protests, including two military personnel, according to official figures.

A committee of professional organisations involved in the protests said in a statement that authorities had raided a meeting of opposition leaders in Khartoum. They detained a total of nine people, including Siddiq Youssef, a senior leader of Sudan's Communist Party, as well as leaders from the pan-Arab Ba'ath and Nasserist parties, the statement said.

The raid came after a coalition of opposition groups called for more protests after the weekly noon prayers on Friday.

Fourteen leaders of one of Sudan's two main opposition groupings were detained last Saturday and then released some nine hours later.

Sudan has been gripped by a deep financial crisis that began in 2011 after the southern half of the country voted to secede, taking with it three-quarters of the country's oil output.

The crisis was further aggravated by years of overspending and mismanagement.

Opposition groups blame President Omar al-Bashir, who has ruled Sudan since 1989, for the mismanagement. A series of economic measures, including a sharp devaluation of the Sudanese pound in October, have failed to shore up the economy.

In January, Sudan was shaken by rare nationwide protests triggered by high bread prices.

But the recent protests that began on Dec. 19 appear to be more serious. Since the demonstrations began, police have used tear gas and sometimes live ammunition against demonstrators, residents say.

Putting the death toll at 19, Sudan's information minister on Thursday blamed some of the deaths on scuffles between shopowners and what he described as looters. He also told a news conference in Khartoum that 219 civilians and 187 members of security forces had been wounded in the protests.

The authorities have shuttered schools and declared curfews and a state of emergency in several regions.

Journalists at the daily Al-Sudani said one of their colleagues was beaten by security forces after protesters passed next to the independent newspaper's offices.

Sudanese security forces fired tear gas and stun grenades on Friday at 300-400 chanting worshippers as they left a mosque near the capital, a Reuters witness said, after a call for widespread anti-government protests by opposition groups.

Activists had urged protesters to gather in large numbers following Friday's weekly Muslim prayers. Civil society groups said authorities arrested nine opposition figures on Thursday evening ahead of the planned demonstrations.

The group in Omdurman, a town near Khartoum, was fired upon as people exited the mosque chanting "peaceful, peaceful," the witness said. Around 30 SUVs belonging to the security forces had surrounded the square outside the building before noon prayers.

Demonstrations in Khartoum continued for the tenth day in a row on Friday, with protesters decrying rampant inflation and acute bread shortages.

According to local witnesses, hundreds of protesters took to the streets across the capital after Friday prayers.

Security forces used teargas to disperse demonstrators, who chanted slogans against the regime of President Omar al-Bashir, witnesses said.

Similar demonstrations were reported on Friday in the cities of Atbara (River Nile State), Dinder (Sennar State) and Port Sudan (Red Sea State).

In a related development, the Umma Reform and Renewal Party, headed by Mubarak al-Fadil, announced its withdrawal from the Sudanese government.

“We pulled our representatives out of the cabinet to protest the use of violence against protesters and the ruling party’s failure to implement recommendations agreed upon as part of Sudan’s National Dialogue initiative,” the party said in a late Thursday statement.

Earlier the same day, Information Minister Bushara Gumaa put the number of people killed during 10 days of protests at 19, including two security personnel.

Opposition groups, for their part, say the death toll is closer to 40.