Sudanese Police Disperse Protests against Price Hikes in Al-Qadarif

Demonstrators chant slogans as they march along the street during anti-government protests in Khartoum, Sudan, Dec. 25, 2018. (Reuters)
Demonstrators chant slogans as they march along the street during anti-government protests in Khartoum, Sudan, Dec. 25, 2018. (Reuters)
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Sudanese Police Disperse Protests against Price Hikes in Al-Qadarif

Demonstrators chant slogans as they march along the street during anti-government protests in Khartoum, Sudan, Dec. 25, 2018. (Reuters)
Demonstrators chant slogans as they march along the street during anti-government protests in Khartoum, Sudan, Dec. 25, 2018. (Reuters)

Tensions have increased in Sudan’s eastern key agricultural state of Al-Qadarif in wake of protests in the past two days over the rising cost of living.

On Thursday, students held demonstrations denouncing the hike in prices, scarcity of basic commodities, especially fuel and bread, and frequent electricity cuts.

Protests first broke out in Al-Qadarif’s main market, where demonstrators broke into shops and blocked streets.

Images shared on social media showed burnt car tires and dozens of angry protesters breaking objects and storming shops.

The police fired tear gas and used rubber bullets when protesters were seen looting and attacking government institutions and a number of banks.

An eyewitness told Asharq Al-Awsat that following hit-and-run attacks and chases, security forces were able to control the situation.

They deployed massive forces in the city center and dispersed the protesters, he added.

An official statement by the state of Al-Qadarif condemned the “acts of rioting” when protesters blocked roads, burned tires and set up barricades.

The police had to intervene to protect the property.

“Forces maintained security with high professionalism, which allowed them to control the situation,” the statement added, threatening to take legal measures against “saboteurs.”

Meanwhile, farmers in Al-Qadarif are preparing to organize a sit-in on Saturday to press for the sacking of the state governor if he does not respond to their demands.

Protesters have denounced the policies adopted by the government in their state, which is one of the largest agricultural regions in Sudan.

Deputy Chairman of the Farmers’ Committee Ahmed Abdul Rahim al-Awad told Asharq Al-Awsat that farmers want to be consulted by the authorities in agricultural policies.

He said the farmers want the authorities to recognize their legitimate committee.

Awad explained that the state government policies have called for doubling fees on crops and imposing a large hike on agricultural project fees. So far in 2021, these fees have amounted to 117,000 pounds to each 1,000 feddans. The figure had previously stood at 16,000 pounds.

Moreover, he said the state governor refuses to meet with the farmers and recognize their demands, forcing them to escalate their actions and demand his dismissal.

The farmers held a press conference to explain their case, vowing that they will escalate their actions and increase popular pressure, possibly even resorting to an open-ended sit-in and shutting down the city.

Awad denied that the farmers were politically-motivated, saying that their demands are legitimate and related to agricultural affairs in the state.



Lebanon Security Source Says Hezbollah Official Targeted in Beirut Strike

Civil defense members work as Lebanese army soldiers stand guard at the site of an Israeli strike in Beirut's Basta neighbourhood, amid the ongoing hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, Lebanon November 23, 2024. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi
Civil defense members work as Lebanese army soldiers stand guard at the site of an Israeli strike in Beirut's Basta neighbourhood, amid the ongoing hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, Lebanon November 23, 2024. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi
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Lebanon Security Source Says Hezbollah Official Targeted in Beirut Strike

Civil defense members work as Lebanese army soldiers stand guard at the site of an Israeli strike in Beirut's Basta neighbourhood, amid the ongoing hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, Lebanon November 23, 2024. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi
Civil defense members work as Lebanese army soldiers stand guard at the site of an Israeli strike in Beirut's Basta neighbourhood, amid the ongoing hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, Lebanon November 23, 2024. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi

A Lebanese security source said the target of a deadly Israeli airstrike on central Beirut early Saturday was a senior Hezbollah official, adding it was unclear whether he was killed.

"The Israeli strike on Basta targeted a leading Hezbollah figure," the security official told AFP without naming the figure, requesting anonymity to discuss sensitive matters.

The early morning airstrike has killed at least 15 people and injured 63, according to authorities, and had brought down an eight-storey building nearby, in the second such attack on the working-class neighbourhood of Basta in as many months.

"The strike was so strong it felt like the building was about to fall on our heads," said Samir, 60, who lives with his family in a building facing the one that was hit.

"It felt like they had targeted my house," he said, asking to be identified by only his first name because of security concerns.

There had been no evacuation warning issued by the Israeli military for the Basta area.

After the strike, Samir fled his home in the middle of the night with his wife and two children, aged 14 and just three.

On Saturday morning, dumbstruck residents watched as an excavator cleared the wreckage of the razed building and rescue efforts continued, with nearby buildings also damaged in the attack, AFP journalists reported.

The densely packed district has welcomed people displaced from traditional Hezbollah bastions in Lebanon's east, south and southern Beirut, after Israel intensified its air campaign on September 23, later sending in ground troops.

"We saw two dead people on the ground... The children started crying and their mother cried even more," Samir told AFP, reporting minor damage to his home.

Since last Sunday, four deadly Israeli strikes have hit central Beirut, including one that killed Hezbollah spokesman Mohammed Afif.

Residents across the city and its outskirts awoke at 0400 (0200 GMT) on Saturday to loud explosions and the smell of gunpowder in the air.

"It was the first time I've woken up screaming in terror," said Salah, a 35-year-old father of two who lives in the same street as the building that was targeted.

"Words can't express the fear that gripped me," he said.

Saturday's strikes were the second time the Basta district had been targeted since war broke out, after deadly twin strikes early in October hit the area and the Nweiri neighbourhood.

Last month's attacks killed 22 people and had targeted Hezbollah security chief Wafiq Safa, who made it out alive, a source close to the group told AFP.

Salah said his wife and children had been in the northern city of Tripoli, about 70 kilometres away (45 miles), but that he had to stay in the capital because of work.

His family had been due to return this weekend because their school reopens on Monday, but now he has decided against it following the attack.

"I miss them. Every day they ask me: 'Dad, when are we coming home?'" he said.

Lebanon's health ministry says that more than 3,650 people have been killed since October 2023, after Hezbollah initiated exchanges of fire with Israel in solidarity with its Iran-backed ally Hamas over the Gaza war.

However, most of the deaths in Lebanon have been since September this year.

Despite the trauma caused by Saturday's strike, Samir said he and his family had no choice but to return home.

"Where else would I go?" he asked.

"All my relatives and siblings have been displaced from Beirut's southern suburbs and from the south."