Our weekly round-up of must-read stories you might have missed. This week, Top Stories concern exclusively recent events in Sudan: The Sudanese are doing it again “Graphic” by Zeinobia; Uprising in Sudan: What we know now by Eric Reeves; Rising Death Toll of Peaceful Protesters and Internet Blackout by Girifna; Sudan Protests Test Bashir by United to End Genocide; Sudan blacks out internet to hide brutal suppression of protests by Dalia Haj-Omar.
#SudanRevolts : The Sudanese are doing it again “Graphic” – September 25, 2013
I am already taking some time off away from the blog and social media altogether yet I am forced to return back with all the developments taking place right now in Sudan. For two days now protests are rocking the Sudanese cities especially in Khartoum and its surrounding suburbs. Protesters set the headquarters of the ruling party “NCP” on fire as well some police stations and checkpoints after they were attacked by security forces that did not hesitate in live ammunition. As usual the peaceful angry protests are met with violent crack down. The latest numbers we got at 21 have been killed and hundreds have bee injured. The fatalities are caused by live ammunition fired by security forces. Updated : Numbers are jumping as eye witnesses are telling Girifana that Omdurman hospital’s morgue got at least 30 bodies while another witness told the famous political group that he saw 17 dead bodies at a police station in the area. Not less than 1500 protesters have been arrested in the protests in the past 48 hours…
Uprising in Sudan: What we know now – September 26, 2013
The Khartoum regime has long heavily censored news coverage by Sudanese journalists. Newspapers have been punishingly fined or put out of business, and there is a long history of harassing, even arresting journalists for reporting what they have seen. Similarly, the regime has long imposed severe travel restrictions on international journalists, preventing travel to Darfur, to eastern Sudan, and more recently to Blue Nile, South Kordofan, and most of Abyei. There is no nongovernmental access to broadcast media in Sudan, and a great deal of electronic information of various sorts is consistently blocked (my website is one example, but there are countless others). The wholesale shutdown of Internet access on Wednesday (September 25) reveals the lengths to which the regime will go to prevent any sharing of news via social media. In this case the tactic seems to have been hastily conceived, since the shutdown itself generated widespread news coverage. The regime has at least temporarily allowed Internet connectivity to resume. But this can be reversed at a moment’s notice, and the shutdown will surely be re-imposed if events continue on their current trajectory…
Sudan: Rising Death Toll of Peaceful Protesters and Internet Blackout – September 26, 2013
Sudan is experiencing a new wave of popular protests that are increasing in popularity and scope. They have so far included Wad Madani, Khartoum, Kassala, Port Sudan, Gadarif, Sinaar and Nyala. In all of these towns except Nyala, the protests were triggered by the critical economic situation that saw in the last weeks a sharp depreciation of the Sudanese pound vis a vis the dollar and, and an increase in prices of basic food items and the cost of fuel. This was compounded by the government’s announcement, last Tuesday (September 17) that it was lifting State subsidies from fuel and essential food products, such as sugar. Starting Tuesday, September 24, the price of gasoline almost doubled. This report covers the first four days of protests, that started last Sunday triggered by President Al Bashir’s speech to the nation that broadcast live on Sudan TV where he discussed the intended actions to respond to the economic crisis, and confirmed that the lifting of subsidies was going to be implemented. This report will also focus on the violent crackdown of the Sudanese government that included: the use of live ammunition against peaceful protesters resulting in deaths amongst protesters–many of whom are minors and school students…
Sudan Protests Test Bashir – September 27, 2013
Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir is facing the greatest threat to his leadership since he seized power in 1989. Demonstrations that began in Khartoum on Monday, September 23rd, to protest a dramatic cut in fuel subsidies have spread throughout Sudan and intensified with the government’s bloody response. While the final trajectory remains unclear, the unprecedented scope of protests and the government’s use of live ammunition, internet shutdowns, and widespread detentions have led some Sudan experts to speculate this could be the end for Bashir. Dozens of people were reportedly killed in the first few days of protests, including at least 50 shot in the chest or head on Tuesday and Wednesday alone. An increased security presence met protesters ahead of evening prayers on Friday, causing further clashes and reported deaths that may now number well over 100. While government attacks in Darfur and other parts of Sudan have been ongoing for years, unrest and mass killing has rarely touched Khartoum and other cities currently facing mass protests. Bashir’s announcement on Sunday that the government will cut fuel subsidies led to an increase by almost 100% in the price of gasoline and diesel overnight. In addition, the Sudanese pound has sharply depreciated in value over the past few weeks and the prices of essential food products, like sugar, have risen dramatically…
Sudan blacks out internet to hide brutal suppression of protests – September 27, 2013
There’s no trying to hide what’s happening within the urban centres of Sudan today. On Wednesday, September 26 at about 1pm, the Sudanese authorities completely shut down the country’s global internet for 24 hours. This happened against the backdrop of spreading peaceful protests following the regime’s decision to lift state subsidies from basic food items and fuel. In the last few weeks, Sudan’s citizens have been feeling the burden of increasing prices as the Sudanese pound depreciated sharply, and purchasing power declined in a country where 46 percent of the population live in poverty. The lifting of subsidies was met with a popular outburst, especially after a public TV speech by President Omer Al Bashir made it clear that his government has no concrete solutions. He went on to mock the population saying they did not know what hot dogs were before he came to power. The protests, which started in Wad Madani in Gaziera state, have so far spread to Sudan’s major towns including Nyala in war-struck Darfur. They have been met with unprecedented government violence in the Northern cities of Sudan which have traditionally been peaceful…
