Sudanese answer labor union’s call to demonstrate

By Mohamed Amin

KHARTOUM (AA) – Sudanese hit the streets across the country on Thursday after the Sudanese Professional Association (SPA) called for fresh anti-government protests.

According to eyewitnesses, thousands of people demonstrated on Thursday in different parts of Khartoum and in other cities, including Wad Madani and Sennar.

President Omar al-Bashir, meanwhile, has vowed not to leave office except through elections slated for 2020.

“The only means of political change in Sudan is through voting and the ballot box,” al-Bashir said while addressing thousands of supporters in the capital.

For the past six weeks, the trouble African country has been rocked by protest, with demonstrators decrying the government’s apparent failure to remedy the country’s chronic economic woes.

The ruling National Congress Party, for its part, is reportedly pushing for constitutional changes to allow al-Bashir to run for a third term in office.