Only way to power change is elections: Sudan min.

KHARTOUM (AA) – Sudanese police forces on Sunday reiterated support for President Omar al-Bashir amid ongoing protests against rampant inflation and acute bread shortages.

“We announce our full support for Bashir,” Interior Minister Ahmed Bilal said during a meeting between Bashir and police commanders in Khartoum.

He said security forces will not allow “those trying to use the economic situation to inflame sedition”.

“The only way to power change is through election, not protests,” Bilal said. “There will be no way to chaos.”

Police Director General Al-Tayeb Babikir Ali, for his part, said security forces were pursuing “criminals who used protests to commit robbery and theft”.

“Change will only be achieved through election, not anything else,” he said.

Sudanese authorities say at least 19 people have been killed in street demonstrations that swept several Sudanese states against rising prices and shortages of basic commodities earlier this month.

Opposition groups, for their part, say the death toll is closer to 40.

Sudanese authorities have announced a state of emergency and curfew in a number of provinces over the protests, with government officials accusing Israel of plotting with rebel groups to cause violence in the country.

A nation of 40 million people, Sudan has struggled to recover from the loss of three quarters of its oil output – its main source of foreign currency – when South Sudan seceded in 2011