Officials say situations in Port Sudan back to normal after bloody protest

KHARTOUM, Jan 31, 2005 (Xinhua via COMTEX) – A Sudanese official said Monday the situations in Port Sudan, where bloody strikes killed dozens of people on Saturday, have come back to normal.
The Sudan News Agency quoted Majzoub el-Khalifa, Political Secretary of the ruling National Conference party and the president’s representative on Port Sudan’s incident, as saying the situations there “are completely stable”.

“Life in Port Sudan has come back to normalcy by virtue of the efforts exerted by the state government and the popular leadership as well as civilians’ consciousness and alertness,” the official said.

He said a legal committee has been set up to continue investigations into the incident of Port Sudan and help reach reconciliation between the government and the protesters.

A social committee to follow up on the casualties’ treatment is also established.

A total of 17 protesters were killed and 64 others wounded in Port Sudan town in eastern Sudan last Saturday when security forces opened fire to disperse them.

The incident came following two days of tension between the state government and a group of El-Bija tribe who demanded just division of power and wealth.

The Bija tribe, the largest in eastern Sudan, called for negotiations between the Bija Conference party and the Sudanese government to help ensure just rights for their region.

The killing of the civilians evoked anger in Port Sudan and the government there declared a curfew from 5:00 p.m. (1400 GMT) to 6:00 a.m. (0300 GMT) in the wake of the incident.