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| Africa Horn |
| Thousands Protest in Sudanese Town |
| 2013-11-13 |
| [An Nahar] Thousands of Sudanese demanded the removal of a local police chief on Tuesday, witnesses said, on the third day of unrest sparked by an attack on a female student. Crowds in Abu Hamad, about 500 kilometers (300 miles) north of Khartoum, "started a sit-in near the main court," one witness told AFP. They were demanding that the town's top police officer and the head of the local government resign, residents said, adding that they community was fed up with what they perceived as a lack of action against migrants from other parts of Sudan who commit crimes in the area. The migrants are working in the area's wildcat gold mines. Unrest began after Sunday's attack on the young woman, which led crowds to burn the local market, the residents said. Police said the woman was the victim of a beating and attempted rape at the campus residence of Nile State University. They fired tear gas on Sunday, and again on Monday when about 2,000 people held a further protest as officials tried to negotiate, said the witnesses. Production from wildcat gold mines has become a key revenue source for the cash-strapped Sudanese government. |
| Posted by:Fred |