British warning regarding security situation in Khartoum “exaggerated”: FM
April 30, 2016 (KHARTOUM) – Sudan’s foreign ministry has downplayed a warning issued by the British government last week asking its citizens to avoid students’ protests which have sparked violent clashes in several parts of Sudan.
Two students Mohamed al-Sadiq of Omdurman Ahlia University and Abu Bakr Siddiq of Kordofan University were killed during violent clashes between government and opposition supporters respectively on 27 and 19 April.
Following what, the opposition supporters Thursday and Friday organized several protests in different universities accusing the security services of targeting pro-opposition student groups and called to overthrow the regime.
On Wednesday, the British government, in an advisory on its website, urged its citizens in Sudan and particularly in the capital Khartoum and its twin city of Omdurman to remain vigilant and avoid any demonstrations or large gatherings.
It said that the protests are no longer isolated to universities and the possibility of further demonstrations can’t be ruled out.
However, the deputy Under-secretary of Sudan’s foreign ministry Siraj al-Din Hamid described the warning as “exaggerated”, stressing that the security situation in the country is stable.
He told the official news agency (SUNA) Saturday that the warning doesn’t mean the security situation is unstable to the extent that it prevents British citizens from travelling to Sudan and described it as a mere advice.
The United States embassy in Khartoum on Friday also asked its citizens to exercise caution in light of anti-government demonstrations and violence at several universities in the Sudanese capital.
“As a result of ongoing unrest, the Embassy is exercising heightened caution by temporarily restricting Embassy staff from the vicinity of the affected universities,” said a message sent by the Embassy to the American nationals in Khartoum.
(ST)