Ekip
27 February 2019•Update: 28 February 2019
By Mohammed Amin
KHARTOUM
A countrywide state of emergency declared last week is not aimed at citizens or anti-government demonstrators, Sudanese First Vice-President Awad Ibn Oaf said Wednesday.
After a meeting with President Omar al-Bashir, Ibn Oaf told reporters in Khartoum that the state of emergency -- set to remain in effect for a one-year period -- was aimed at “maintaining security” and “stabilizing the economy”.
Last week, al-Bashir declared a one-year state of emergency, which includes ten-year jail terms for anyone found guilty of “gathering without official permission”.
It also bans trading in gold or foreign currencies.
Meanwhile, protests resumed in Khartoum on Wednesday after a child was reportedly killed by a security vehicle on Tuesday night.
“Police used teargas to disperse protesters who had staged a sit-in outside Khartoum’s private international hospital,” one witness, preferring anonymity, told Anadolu Agency.
In a statement, the Sudanese Professional Association said a five-year-old child -- identified as Moayad Yassir Gomma -- had been killed Tuesday evening after being struck by a security vehicle.
The Sudanese authorities, for their part, have yet to release a statement on the child’s reported death.
