KHARTOUM, Sudan — At least six people have been killed during protests in Sudan, according to local media reports, as a Sudanese journalist was arrested.
Protesters took to the streets across Sudan on Sunday to decry a decision by Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir to increase fuel and food prices.
Local media reports gave a death toll of six on Monday, but the public prosecutor disputed the report. Public prosecutor Haroun N. Ahmed told Reuters that one person was killed in Khartoum’s Jabel Mukaber district when a fire bomb was thrown at police.
He said the other four deaths were caused by “acceleration of gunshots by armed men firing from rooftops.” Police had said a number of people were killed by gunshots during protests in Khartoum and other major cities.
The government-run Sudanese Media Centre said in a statement that Al Jazeera bureau chief Ismail el-Sudani was arrested on Sunday in Khartoum after he attempted to cover the protest in downtown Khartoum and clashes with security forces.
Sudan is deeply polarized over a landmark decision to triple fuel prices and cut subsidies in an effort to balance the government’s books. Prices on Wednesday went up again.
Large rallies protesting the changes turned violent in several cities, with at least two people dead in connection with a protest in Khartoum. Many demonstrators were protesting the trade restrictions along with the fuel price increases.
Some shops were burned and parts of central Khartoum were damaged when security forces tried to contain the demonstrations on Sunday.