Demand for civilian deaths .. Bread demonstrations escalate in Nyala, western Sudan

Ahmed Fadl-Khartoum

Protests involving thousands of school students and citizens in Nyala, capital of South Darfur state, called for the dismissal of the military governor, amid growing demands from the forces of freedom and change to accelerate the appointment of civilian governors of the states.

Thousands of students demonstrated for a third day in front of the state government headquarters in Nyala on Monday, protesting against the use of excessive violence by security services with demonstrations over lack of bread and double the price.

The Council of Sovereignty in the circulation of the transfer of its salary (periodic) next Thursday to Nyala, while the ministers of the Interior and Federal Government will arrive in the city on Monday to contain the situation.

The bread sparked the Atbara protests on December 19, 2018, and led to the ouster of ousted President Omar al-Bashir on April 11.

Bread Crunch
Protesters went to the government headquarters and the main police station in central Nyala, about 900 km west of the capital Khartoum, and chanted slogans calling for the exemption of the governor, Major General Hashim Khalid in protest against the security authorities deal with protesters over the lack of bread in the past two days.

Decisions issued by the military governor on Sunday evening to dismiss the executive directors of the localities of the state and the appointment of new directors did not succeed in discouraging the resistance committees from calling for a million people.

According to a source in the Resistance Committees in Nyala island, the forces of freedom and change believes that the governor failed economically to provide bread and security failure after the events of insecurity in the town of "Gereida."

The gathering of Sudanese professionals pointed out yesterday that the protesters in Nyala demanded that the security services do not manipulate the distribution of flour and fuel in the city.

Solidarity of States
Protesters in Khartoum, Kassala state in eastern Sudan and Kosti in White Nile state joined forces with schoolchildren in Nyala to stage processions and demonstrate.

The Alliance for Freedom and Change said an urgent discussion with the prime minister was needed to quickly appoint civilian governors in the 18 states.

Coalition spokesman Wajdi Saleh told Al Jazeera Net that the forces of the Declaration of Freedom and Change will discuss the matter with Prime Minister Abdullah Hamdouk, after his return from the meetings of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

"It is necessary to appoint governors who are capable of carrying out the revolution program. It is known that all the military governors were appointed before the appointment of the prime minister," he said.

The Caucus of Professionals had earlier warned against delaying the appointment of civilian governors representing the revolution and its aspirations.

Juba Agreement
Wajdi Saleh considered that the postponement of the appointment of state governors by three months in the agreement of principles recently signed in Juba between the government and the armed movements, contrary to the constitutional document.

He stressed that the postponement of the appointment of state governors needs to be reviewed calmly, balancing the achievement of the goals of the revolution and peace, as interrelated issues and need a deeper dialogue in this sensitive period.

"The excessive violence against schoolchildren who are peacefully protesting the scarcity and bread of bread, is a desperate recall of the despotic regime's behavior," the Sudanese Congress Party leader, Omar Dugair, tweeted on his Twitter account.

"The conviction is not enough, but the immediate dismissal of the governor and the accountability of those who have not yet understood that the era of tyranny and repression is over," he said.

Hundreds of demonstrators last Thursday in the city of Gedaref (410 km southeast of Khartoum), demanding the dismissal of the governor, such as the same day in several cities in the state of South Kordofan.