Sudan arrests more fuel price hike protesters

A man buys fuel for his car in Khartoum on Friday. (Reuters)

KHARTOUM: Sudanese security agents have arrested several opposition politicians over the past two days to prevent any likely protests against Khartoum’s decision to hike fuel prices, their parties said on Sunday.
Sudan’s all-powerful National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS) arrested on Friday the deputy chief of the opposition Sudanese Congress Party, Khaled Omar, from his home in Khartoum.
Omar was arrested after he delivered a speech criticizing the hike in prices of petrol and diesel by about 30 percent.
Since then two other members of Omar’s party were also arrested, a senior member of their party, Bakri Youssef told AFP.
Three activists from the Baath Party were also arrested over the past two days, party spokesman Mohamed Diaddin said.
The opposition Communist Party also announced on its Facebook page the arrest of a senior member, Mohideen Al-Jallad.
And on Sunday, small groups of protesters burned tires and tried to stage demonstrations in two districts of Khartoum but they were swiftly dispersed by riot policemen, an AFP correspondent reported.
Overnight, security agents also seized print runs of three newspapers — Al-Tayar, Al-Jadida and Al-Watan — after they covered the fuel price hike in reports seen as criticial of the government.
Fuel price rises have been a sensitive issue in Sudan, where the economy has been badly hit since 2011 when South Sudan gained independence and took nearly three quarters of the formerly united country’s oil reserves with it. In September 2013, the government slashed fuel subsidies, sparking street protests as retail prices soared by more than 60 percent.