Sudan: Protests Erupt over Economic crisis

Last updated on September 11th, 2021 at 08:00 am

Protests erupted in several parts of Sudan on Tuesday over rising food prices. Hundreds of thousands of people have gathered in major cities to protest the rising cost of living. Demonstrators have targeted police with stones and burned shops and markets. Protests are spreading to other regions of the country such as Kordofan state.

Protesters are complaining about the harsh living conditions and the declining economy as there is a chronic hard currency shortagesin the country, and the people calling on the government to address the economy and improve people’s lives.

Sudan has been plagued by war and economic hardship as a result of Omar al-Bashir’s long rule and a series of US sanctions. As a result, al-Bashir was ousted by the military. While the military government has promised to improve people’s lives and correct the mistakes made by the ousted president. Concerns are growing about the country’s economy and rising living costs.

READ MORE: The African Development Bank (AfDB) has signed a 14 Million Grant for South Sudan Agricultural Development

While the United States has voiced support for the new government in its efforts to revive the economy, the population has not yet had enough to live on and more protests have erupted. The new cabinet includes rebel leaders and is tasked with repairing the shattered economy that has been affected by decades of US sanctions, mismanagement and civil war by ousted President Omar al-Bashir. It is also experiencing alarming inflation, recurring severe shortages and a growing black market.

Footage posted on social media showed protesters in the provincial capital of Al-Obeid carrying wheat bags apparently looted from bakaries. And people are demanding that their lives be changed and that the government take care of the economy.

 Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok has appointed a new group including rebel leader and economist Gibril Ibrahim as finance minister to address these issues. “We promise not to sleep until we have finished the bread and the queues for fuel, and to make life-saving medicines available at a reasonable price,” Ibrahim wrote on Twitter.

Protests against economic insecurity in the country has also been arrested in recent weeks in the capital, Khartoum and the eastern Gedaref state. Cases of robbery have been reported in Gedaref.