The price hikes have sparked the largest protests of Omar al-Bashir
Head of the National Congress Party. He came to power in 1989 when he, as a brigadier in the Sudanese army, led a group of officers in a bloodless military coup that ousted the government of Prime Minister Sadiq al-Mahdi and eventually appointed himself president-for-life. He has fallen out with his Islamic mentor, Hasan al-Turabi, tried to impose shariah on the Christian and animist south, resulting in its secessesion, and attempted to
ArabizeDarfur by unleashing the barbaric Janjaweed on it. Sudan's potential prosperity has been pissed away in warfare that has left as many as 400,000 people dead and 2.5 million displaced. Omar has been indicted for genocide by the International Criminal Court but nothing is expected to come of it.
's 24-year rule, as young activists have invoked chants from the Arab Spring to call for the president's downfall and security forces have been accused of gunning down more than 50 people.
Activists had called for stepped-up protests after weekly Moslem prayers, and security forces responded with a massive deployment on the streets of the capital and elsewhere.
Around 2,000 protesters marched in Omdurman, the capital's twin city, chanting anti-army slogans and calling for a halt to fuel price hikes, witnesses and an Agence La Belle France Presse correspondent said.
Police deployed in large numbers and watched from a distance as the demonstrators marched down a main thoroughfare chanting "Down to the army's power" and "No to price hikes."
Meanwhile,
...back at the the conspirators' cleverly concealed hideout the long-awaited message arrived. They quickly got to work with their decoder rings...
soldiers stood guard outside Khartoum petrol stations as long lines of cars waited to fill up after several stations were torched or shut down in recent days.
Internet access was cut for the second time this week, schools have been ordered closed until Monday and most shops remain shuttered, deepening the sense of crisis and sending residents scrambling to stock up on supplies.
"I want my family to have what we need because we don't know where this is all going," said Ahmad Hassan, 50, as he stocked up on canned goods.
In an apparent bid to impose a media blackout on the unrest, Sudanese authorities shut down the Khartoum office of pan-Arab satellite channel Al-Arabiya after summoning its correspondent for questioning, the network said.
Authorities also seized or blocked publication of three newspapers earlier Friday, even though the outlets are considered pro-government, journalists said.
The Al-Sudani and Al-Majhar al-Siassi dailies were seized at the printing press, they said, while Al-Watan was ordered not to print after covering the unrest in its Thursday edition.
The African Center for Justice and Peace Studies and London-based
"Local sources and activists have put the figure much higher, in excess of 100," a joint statement said.
They also expressed "deep concern" about reports of hundreds being enjugged
You have the right to remain silent...
and urged the authorities "to ensure that they are protected from torture and other ill-treatment."
"Shooting to kill -- including by aiming at protesters' chests and heads -- is a blatant violation of the right to life," said Lucy Freeman, Africa deputy director at Amnesty.
Police confirmed there had been 29 fatalities after the rioting erupted on Monday, without giving further details. Medics and other sources said most had been rubbed out.
The European Union
...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing...
said it was "concerned" about the reported deaths and called on all sides to avoid further violence.
"We particularly ask the Government of Sudan to respect the Sudanese people's right to freedom of expression, freedom of the media and freedom of assembly," a statement said.