Mourners Protest After Deaths In Sudan Demos

Hundreds of mourners leaving the funeral of a protester launched one of several spontaneous anti-government rallies in Sudan on Friday, as police said "only two" people had died in violence the day before

Khartoum, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 19th Jan, 2019 ) :Hundreds of mourners leaving the funeral of a protester launched one of several spontaneous anti-government rallies in Sudan on Friday, as police said "only two" people had died in violence the day before.

Organisers of the ongoing anti-government protests had said three protesters were killed on Thursday.

Protests have rocked Sudan since December 19, when the government raised the price of bread.

The rallies have escalated into broad demonstrations against President Omar al-Bashir's three-decade rule.

"We are not scared, we will not stop" shouted protesters in Khartoum as they returned from the funeral of a demonstrator who died during clashes with riot police in the eastern district of Burri on Thursday, witnesses said.

Video footage showed the dead protester covered in a green shroud being carried to a cemetery, after which mourners marched through the area, witnesses said.

Men and women, many wearing masks and shouting slogans against the government, walked through Burri as thick smoke billowed from burning tyres and rubbish.

Protestors clapped, whistled and flashed the victory sign, while some carried Sudanese flags.

Witnesses said a group of mourners had attacked a police vehicle before the funeral procession.

"The police had to leave the vehicle and flee," a witness said, adding that some protesters climbed and stomped on the vehicle as others cheered.

In a separate demonstration, Muslim who had gathered for Friday prayers chanted "Freedom, peace, justice" in a mosque in Omdurman, the twin city of Khartoum, witnesses said.

"After the prayers they streamed out of the mosque chanting slogans against the government," a witness told AFP.

"They were immediately confronted by riot police who dispersed them." A third protest was also swiftly dispersed in an area in the south of the capital, witnesses said.

Later on Friday, protesters took to the streets again in three areas -- two in northern Khartoum's Bahari district and one in Omdurman, witnesses said, adding that riot police quickly confronted them.

Riot police on Thursday broke up a march by hundreds of people on the presidential palacein Khartoum chanting "freedom, peace, justice" -- the key slogan of the protest movement.

Hours later, residents of Burri staged a demonstration that led to clashes between riot police and protesters, witnesses said.