Sudan’s Prime Minister says protests are “legitimate”

February 2, 2019 (KHARTOUM) – The Sudanese Prime Minister Muataz Musa on Saturday has described the popular protests against the government as “legitimate”.

Large protests have been ongoing across Sudanese cities since 19 December. The demonstrations first began over fuel shortages and a hike in food prices but have now morphed into full-fledged protests calling for al-Bashir to step down.

The Sudanese government has confirmed the deaths of 29 people in the course of the protests but other credible reports including from Amnesty International suggest the death toll is nearly twice as high.

Since the beginning of the demonstrations against his regime, the Sudanese President Omer al-Bashir continued to denounce the protesters calling them agents, mercenaries and traitors.

Also, the Sudanese army’s Chief of General Staff Kamal Abdel-Marouf on Wednesday described the protesters as “homeless”, vowing full support to President al-Bashir.

However, the Prime Minister on Saturday said “some of the protesters’ demands are legitimate and must be respected”.

He added that efforts are underway to resolve some problems, saying regardless of the magnitude of the protests, there are demands that must be expressed and we would meet it with open hearts.

(ST)