Sudan police disperse new anti-Bashir demo

Sudanese security forces fired tear gas at several hundred protesters on Sunday as anti-government protests entered their second month.

In Sunday’s protests demonstrators had blocked one of the main arteries in Omdurman, across the Nile from the centre of the capital Khartoum. Some raised two fingers in victory signs chanting “freedom, peace and justice” as tear gas was fired at them.

Speaking at a Sufi religious celebration in a village near White Nile state on Sunday, Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir blamed the unrest and accompanying violence on foreign “agents” and rebels from the western region of Darfur.

the 75 year-old president also said that the police had not killed any demonstrators since the beginning of the protests.

Near daily demonstrations set off by a worsening economic crisis have shaken Sudan since December 19.

The official death toll stands at 26, including two security agents while rights groups say at least 40 have died.

Protesters have called for an end to President Omar al-Bashir’s three-decade rule, blaming him for the country’s problems.

The protests are the most sustained challenge to Bashir’s rule since he came to power in a military coup in 1989.