Protesters took to the streets of Gedaref on Sunday as anger over soaring prices and deteriorating living conditions spilled into demonstrations that also included calls for an end to the war and military rule.
Demonstrators in the city’s Al-Tadamon neighbourhood blocked a main road with barricades and burning tyres, according to local Sudanese media, as residents protested sharp increases in the cost of basic goods.
Sudanese newspaper Assayha reported that hundreds joined the demonstrations and that some protesters chanted against Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, calling for his departure and an end to military rule and the war.
The political slogans marked a broader challenge than the economic grievances initially reported as driving the demonstrations.
The Gedaref Resistance Committees said the protests reflected mounting anger over what they described as an extreme rise in commodity prices and the continued decline of the Sudanese pound.
The demonstrations come days after Sudanese authorities raised the customs exchange rate for the US dollar for the fourth time this year, increasing it from around 3,960 pounds to 4,346 pounds. Importers and traders have warned that repeated increases are feeding through into the cost of imported food, medicines, fuel and other goods.
Residents in Gedaref have reported steep increases across everyday expenses. One resident told Radio Dabanga that the price of a litre of cooking oil had doubled from 15,000 to 30,000 Sudanese pounds, while a sack of cement had risen from 60,000 to 110,000 pounds.
Monthly school transport costs were reported to have risen from 250,000 to 400,000 pounds, while residents also complained of continuing water shortages and unstable electricity supplies.
The Resistance Committees said many households were increasingly unable to meet their daily needs as the war, currency depreciation and rising prices squeeze incomes.
They urged protesters to maintain peaceful demonstrations and avoid damaging public or private property, while warning security forces against arrests, violence or attempts to suppress the demonstrations.
The committees said citizens exhausted by war and rising living costs should have their grievances addressed rather than face a security crackdown.
