Sudanese police use tear gas to disperse protesters across capital

At least one protester was killed and several others were injured in protests that came days after President Donald Trump announced the US would remove Sudan from its terrorism list.

One of the Sudanese protesters carries the national flag as they gather ahead of a rally to put pressure on the government to improve conditions and push ahead with reform in Khartoum, Sudan, October 21, 2020.
Reuters

One of the Sudanese protesters carries the national flag as they gather ahead of a rally to put pressure on the government to improve conditions and push ahead with reform in Khartoum, Sudan, October 21, 2020.

Sudanese security forces have fired tear gas to disperse hundreds of people in demonstrations across the capital Khartoum, as crowds gathered to put pressure on the government to improve conditions and push ahead with reform.

The rallies came just days after President Donald Trump announced the United States would remove Sudan from its list of state sponsors of terrorism, a designation that dates back to toppled ruler Omar al Bashir and which made it difficult for the transitional government to access urgently needed debt relief and foreign financing.

At least one protester was killed and several others were injured in the clashes with police, a local doctors' committee said in a statement late on Wednesday.

READ MORE: Several dead, dozens wounded during a protest in east Sudan

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Calls for protests started days earlier, aiming to coincide with the anniversary of the overthrow of the country's first military regime in 1964, but wound down following Trump's announcement on Monday.

A Reuters witness said security forces had blocked off all the bridges connecting Khartoum, Bahari and Omdurman across the Blue and White Nile to prevent protesters from reaching the downtown area.

READ MORE: Sudan explores Khartoum's role in advancing Arab-Israeli peace

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Sudan has been in economic crisis for decades. The Sudanese pound has fallen to 220 to the dollar on the black market from 50 pounds two years ago, and the country has $60 billion in foreign debts. The crisis has accelerated since the overthrow of Islamist autocrat Bashir last year.

Some of Bashir's remaining supporters were expected to join Wednesday's protests to voice their opposition against the government but crowds largely gathered to call for justice for those killed in violence throughout the protests last year, the Reuters witness said.

READ MORE: US ready to delist Sudan as state sponsor of terror: Trump

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