Thousands protest against Khartoum government in west Darfur

By Toby Collins

April 20, 2011 (LONDON) – Police broke up thousands of anti-government protestors in west Darfur on Wednesday.

The protestors were supporters of Abdelwahid Nur, the chairman of the Sudan Liberation Movement – an anti-government militia. The epicenter of the protests was in Zalingi where thousands protested, many coming from Internally Displaced People camps in the area.

“From today, as chairman of the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM), I have ordered the people all around Sudan, and in Darfur, to rise and change… this Islamic and genocidal regime,” Nur told the French news agency, AFP.

In Nyala, the region capital, 900 students protested. Nur claimed made unsubstantiated claims that protests took place elsewhere in Darfur.

AFP reports 600 pro-Nur protestors were fired upon with tear gas in Diling, South Kordofan and 100 students protested outside Al-Nilein University in Khartoum.

Protesters held the Khartoum government accountable for the atrocities in Darfur, which have recently been reported to be on the increase, and a rise in food prices.

SLM has been critical of Khartoum’s endorsement in March 2011, of the establishment of two new states in Darufur

(ST)