Date: Feb 13, 2019 Source: The Daily Star Sudan security agents detain professors ahead of protest KHARTOUM: Sudanese security agents Tuesday detained a group of university professors in Khartoum headed for a sit-in protest against President Omar al-Bashir’s government, fellow academics said. Deadly protests have rocked the east African country for weeks since a government decision to triple the price of bread last December. The protests have escalated into nationwide demonstrations against Bashir’s government, with protesters calling for the veteran leader’s resignation. The authorities Tuesday deployed security forces near the University of Khartoum where professors and lecturers had planned to hold a sit-in, witnesses said. “Fourteen professors, eight from University of Khartoum and six from other universities, were on their way to take part in the sit-in when security agents took them away,” University of Khartoum professor Mamdouh Mohammad Hasan said. Several other professors were also unable to participate after security agents closed the gates of the venue where they had gathered before heading to the sit-in, he said. Hasan serves as a spokesman for a group of university professors who are actively participating in anti-government rallies. A lecturer from the University of Khartoum also said security agents had taken away 14 professors ahead of the sit-in. Security agents have regularly arrested professors and other professionals in a sweeping crackdown on protests since they first erupted on Dec. 19. The anti-government demonstrations have been led by the Sudanese Professionals Association, an umbrella group of doctors, engineers and teachers. Hundreds of demonstrators gathered in different Sudanese cities Tuesday to protest Bashir’s rule. Video footage showed demonstrators gathering at intersections chanting “Just fall” and calling for a “people’s revolution.” Doctors also rallied outside state and private hospitals in Sudan’s capital and other cities, witnesses added. Activists say at least 57 people have been killed in the protests. The government’s latest tally stands at 30 killed, but figures have not been updated in days. Human Rights Watch Monday called on the U.N. Human Rights Council to respond to the crisis at its March session. The New York-based group said it obtained video footage that shows “government forces’ extreme violence and shocking abuses against protesters.” “There is irrefutable evidence that Sudan is using ruthless violence and brutality against peaceful protesters and critics of the government,” Jehanne Henry, associate Africa director at HRW, said. “It is high time for the U.N. Human Rights Council to ramp up monitoring and reporting on the situation and to send investigators to the country at once.” Authorities in Sudan have used tear gas, rubber bullets, live ammunition and batons to quell the unrest. They have imposed emergency laws and nighttime curfews in some cities, and have suspended classes in schools and universities in others. Authorities have arrested opposition leaders, doctors, journalists, lawyers and students along with some 800 protesters. Bashir has blamed the unrest on unidentified foreign powers and showed no signs of bowing to demands to quit. However, he and some senior officials have adopted a more conciliatory tone in recent weeks and promised to free detained protesters.