Khartoum state authorities have accused loose gangs and elements of the deposed regime of having been the cause of the loosening security crisis Sudan had been witnessing the past few days – which coincided with the government’s recently announced fuel price deregulation policy — announcing that they would start dealing with the situation on the ground Saturday evening.
AlTaghyeer: Khartoum
The authorities in Khartoum have pledged to end the chaotic spread of crime and lack of security the country has been going through, which they have pinned squarely on elements of the former regime and loose gangs.
There has been a noticeable rise in mugging and armed robbery incidents plaguing the nation in the past days, coinciding with calls to oppose the government’s fuel price deregulation policy.
A press circular issued by the Khartoum state government said that the cases of violence and attacks on public and private property that were carried took advantage of the government’s approach to protecting the right of expression and not interfering with peaceful demonstrations.
The circular cautioned that the government had been monitoring activity aimed at creating chaos and disturbing the peace, as part of a plan–as it described–organized to distort the peaceful revolution.
The circular indicated that the state’s dealing with these infringements will be within the scope of the law.
The state stressed its full respect for the right of expression and peaceful demonstration contained within the text of the constitutional document.
The Khartoum state government also pledged to protect all peaceful activities in the capital.
The authorities began the process of removing the barricades using bulldozers accompanied by police forces, as witnessed in the vicinity of Station #7 in Al Sahafa.
Crime on the Rise
A number of Sudanese resistance committees repudiated the looting and vandalism that took place in the vicinity of the night barricades.
The committees called on protesters to come up with new methods of peaceful protest, including awareness-raising events and preparation for central processions.
A number of activists did not hide their fears that the authorities may impose security measures to narrow the spaces for freedom of expression.
The activists demand urgent reforms to the security and military system in accordance with the provisions of the constitutional document.
A number of citizens have recently complained about the absence of police officers in the streets.
Citizens link this absence with the demands of the former police chief to grant his forces immunity to prevent them from being prosecuted in local courts.
The areas of Nile Street in Omdurman, Al-Hawwa Street in Khartoum, and some of the streets of West Bahri have become areas feared by pedestrians and vehicle owners due to the large number of armed robbery incidents.
The new protest wave began with the imposition of large increases in the prices of gasoline as part of a package of economic reforms planned by the government.
The Minister of Finance, Jibril Ibrahim, described the lifting of commodity subsidies as being similar to a severe and necessary surgery to save the ailing local economy.
Political and revolutionary entities announced their opposition to the decision, and announced the escalation by deploying barricades, leading to the conduct of processions on June 30 to call for the overthrow of the government.
