Start of protests On 30 January 2011, protests took place in Khartoum and
Al-Ubayyid (
el-Obeid). In Khartoum, police clashed with demonstrators in the town centre and at least two universities. Demonstrators had organized on online social networking sites since the Tunisian protests the month before. Hussein Khogali, editor in chief of the
Al-Watan newspaper stated that his daughter had been arrested for organizing the protest via Facebook and opposition leader
Mubarak al-Fadil's two sons were arrested while on their way to the main protest. Pro-government newspapers had warned that protests would cause chaos. Some protesters called for President
Omar al-Bashir to step down. Activists said that dozens of people had been arrested. The protests came on the same day the preliminary results for the referendum indicated some 99% of
South Sudanese voted to secede. One student died in hospital the same night from injuries received in the clashes. Students threw rocks at police officers while chanting "No to high prices, no to corruption" and "Tunisia, Egypt, Sudan together as one." Police officers arrested five and put down the protest. In the Al-Ubayyid 30 January demonstration, about 500 people protested "against the government and demanding change" in the market. Police broke up the demonstration using tear gas. in front of
Al-Neelain University in Khartoum. Police stopped the demonstration. Further protests, scheduled for 21 March were violently suppressed as they were beginning. On 1 November, hundreds of protesters took to the streets in the eastern town of
Kassala.
Student protests in December 2011 Students protested at the
Red Sea University in
Port Sudan after the arrest of several Darfuri student leaders on the night of 21 December, with many Darfuri student activists calling for a revolution and declaring their open support for the
Sudan Revolutionary Front fighting the government in the south. On 26 December 42 Darfuri students left the Red Sea University in protest over their treatment,
Radio Dabanga reported. Students also clashed with riot police wielding batons after security forces stormed the
University of Khartoum on 22 December to break up a rally by about 700 student demonstrators protesting the displacement of the
Manasir community caused by the construction of the
Merowe Dam. Twenty were injured and at least four were arrested, activists told media. On 24 December, approximately 16,000 students attempted to launch a sit-in at the university to protest the police, the university administration, and the federal government, but they were dispersed by riot police who deployed
tear gas, dealt out beatings, and arrested at least 73. Leaders of the student movement warned that they would continue to organize and demand the overthrow of the government despite security officers' violent tactics. On 30 December, thousands of students successfully launched a sit-in protest, the
Associated Press reported. At
Sudan University of Science and Technology in Khartoum, fighting between student supporters of
Khalil Ibrahim and the ruling
National Congress Party broke out on 28 December, days after the Sudanese government announced Ibrahim's death in a battle between his Darfuri rebel group
JEM and the
Sudan People's Armed Forces. Twelve were injured in the brawl, which police used
tear gas to disperse. The student protests, in particular those at the University of Khartoum, have been blamed by police on the influence of unnamed Sudanese opposition parties.
Anti-austerity protests in June–July 2012 has been used by some protestors as an opposition flag, along with the current flag Hundreds of female students in the
University of Khartoum protested peacefully in the surroundings of their hostels at the central campus on the evening of 16 June. The protesters voice opposition against the escalation of prices and economic hardship in Sudan. The next day, students took to the streets, denouncing the austerity measures one day ahead of plans announced by the Sudanese government. As Omar Al-Bashir has formally announced a series of deep budget cuts while addressing the
National Assembly in Khartoum, about 250 students held anti-austerity protest in the Khartoum University. Riot police used tear gas and batons against the protesters who in turn threw stones at police. escalating their demands and started to chant slogans like "No, no to high prices" and "
The people want to overthrow the regime". Unlike the previous protest held during the past few days, this protest was not mainly a student-led one due to the protest spreading into many neighborhoods that had been quiet. The police escalated the use of force during their clashes with the protesters and the smell of tear gas and broken rocks covered streets. Students in
Kassala protested on 27 June outside the local university against the austerity measures and called for regime change. On 29 June, around 2,000 protesters gathered in the capital and chanted anti-government slogans. Hundreds of police and security forces attacked the demonstration with tear gas. Other protests in the area of north Kordofan were reported. Activists said that a man named Amir Bayoumi, from Omdurman, has reportedly died from the effects of inhaling tear gas. The largest protest so far erupted in Sudan on 6 July in which between 3,000 and 4,000 people protested at Al Ansar mosque in Wad Nubawi, Omdurman. Security forces and police blocked the roads leading to the Al Ansar mosque and surrounded the courtyard before the end of Friday prayers. Sudanese university students armed with sticks and stones on Wednesday staged one of their largest protest on 11 July since unrest sparked by inflation began nearly a month ago. Security forces fired tear gas while students at the University of Khartoum were shouting and throwing stones after the protest began mid-afternoon. Two days later, Sudanese police surrounded the Imam Abdel Rahman Mosque in Omdurman and fired teargas when some 300 worshippers started a protest after noon prayers. Officers used batons to drive worshippers back inside the mosque where they continued their protest for more than an hour. On 16 July, a group of over 300 Sudanese lawyers protested outside Khartoum's main courtroom on Monday against the government's use of violence and arbitrary detention during last Friday's peaceful demonstrations. On 31 July, more than 1,000 protesters, mostly students, threw rocks at police, burned tires and blocked roads in the market area of Nyala, on Tuesday. Activists said police forces fired heavy teargas and live bullets, leading to the death of 12 protesters and injury of more than 50 and added that 9 of the victims' bodies have been received at Nyala Hospital. However, the authorities issued conflicting statements with the police, saying eight were killed and South Darfur governor saying only six protesters were killed. The weeks of protests later ended with a huge security crackdown, with almost more than 2,000 people arrested.
Sporadic protests On 5 December 2012, four students at Gezira University, Darfur, were killed during a crackdown on anti-tuition fee protests. Demanding an investigation into the deaths, protests flared up once again, with students from Khartoum engaging in running battles with the police. On 26 April 2013, protestors blocked a major road out of Khartoum in protest of a sell-off of farmland to Arabian investors. The crowds were dispersed by the authorities, wielding batons and tear gas. An alliance of four rebel groups called the Sudanese Revolutionary Front attacked the provincial town of
Umm Ruwaba on 27 April. The government was eventually able to repel the attack, but ignited a local protest over lack of security in the region. Protestors stoned a government convoy the following day. On the Bashir's 24th coup anniversary of 29 June, as many as 10,000 led by
Sadiq al-Mahdi rallied in a square in Khartoum's twin city of Omdurman. Protesters held up signs saying: "The people demand the fall of the regime" and "Go Bashir". Hundreds of police officers were at the scene but they did not stop the rally. More than 2,000 people took to the streets in Nyala on 18 September to demonstrate against the killing of a prominent businessman. They set several government buildings and cars on fire and burned tires, blocking roads and prompting police to fire teargas. Protesters shouted slogans before officers dispersed the crowd. Authorities later issued a nightly curfew in the, blaming the Darfuri rebels for trying to exploit the situation and enter the city.
Protests against fuel price in September–October 2013 23 September 2013: Riots broke out after the government lifted its fuel and cooking gas subsidies to bring its budget under control. Within hours of petrol stations adjusting their price displays, some 800 protesters gathered in the center of Wad Medani, shouting "No, No to price hikes," while others called on Bashir to resign, yelling "Go, go." Three petrol stations and the branch of the French-Sudanese bank on the Soug El Kabir went up in flames, as also happened with a government administration unit at Soug El Malaja. The police reacted by shooting with rubber bullets and making heavy use of tear gas. Dozens of demonstrators were arrested. According to
Sudan News Agency, police said a 23-year-old man was killed during a protest in Wad Madani but blamed unidentified gunmen opening fire from a passing vehicle that demonstrators had stoned. Activists however dismissed the government version and blamed government forces. In Khartoum, the capital of Sudan, where there were protests in El Deim, Soug El Arabi and El Nilein University, the police used tear gas and sticks to disperse the crowd. A number of activists of the Sudanese Party and of Girifna were arrested in Khartoum North. An activist informed
Radio Dabanga that "thunderous demonstrations" started from El Deim popular neighbourhood, led by women shouting "down with the regime". They were surrounded by the security men after Amarat Street was closed. A number of women were arrested. At the Nilein University in Khartoum students went out to demonstrate but were quickly cordoned by a huge police force. The demonstrators then tried to restart their protests at the Soug El Arabi, which was also surrounded by police. Mohayed Siddig, a founding member of the youth movement "Sudan Change Now," was arrested following a raid on his home by six armed agents from the NISS. NISS agents searched his home for more than two hours, and also confiscated CDs, documents and Siddig's wife's laptop. By 2 October Siddig was still being held incommunicado and without charge, with
Amnesty International claiming him to be at risk of torture and ill-treatment. Other members of "Sudan Change Now," including its spokesperson Amjed Farid, among others: Dahlia Elroubi, Omar Ushari and Khalid Omar, were also arrested.
27 September 2013: Two non-government groups in Sudan,
Amnesty International and the African Center for Justice and Peace Studies, claim that police killed more than 50 protesters, by aiming gunfire at people's heads and chests. Government officials, however, have said that there were fewer than 29 deaths. Dr Sidgi Kaballo, a member of the Central Committee of
Sudanese Communist Party, was arrested shortly after arriving in Sudan from the UK. Family members attempting to visit him on 30 September were turned away and told to return in 15 days. The NISS would not disclose the detained doctor's whereabouts to his family. Dahlia Al Roubi and Rayan Zein Abideen, members of "Sudan Change Now," were taken to the NISS building in Emarat area where they were held without charge, access to lawyers or their families. By 2 October
Amnesty International claimed to have received information that they had been moved to an unknown location At a government press conference, the Sudanese Government responded to claims of photographic and video evidence of the crackdown against protesters by claiming that most of the photos were actually taken in Egypt, which has also been experiencing
unrest. Bahram Abdelmoneim, a journalist with the Al Youm Al Taly newspaper, accused the government officials of lying when getting up to ask a question, and claimed that the deaths were caused by
National Congress militias. Abdelmoneim was later unreachable after going to meet with government security agents. which the government claimed to number only 34.
9 October 2013: In a live speech on national radio, President
Omar al-Bashir claimed that the protests were part of an attempt to overthrow the government. Bashir however claimed that the government could not be overthrown as it was "guarded by God." Bashir also stated that the government was planning a major economic conference for November in order to gather experts in order to find solutions to help stabilize the economy. By 9 October the Sudanese government had also upgraded its estimate for the number of deaths from the protests, giving a figure of 60–70. The Sudanese government also claimed that security forces had been forced to intervene when crowds turned violent and began attacking petrol stations and police.
11 October 2013: Following Friday prayers, around 150 Sudanese pro-democracy activists and Islamists protested outside Khartoum's Grand Mosque. Demonstrators held banners reading "our revolution is peaceful". Security forces surrounded the area but stayed away from the protesters.
24 October 2013:
26 October 2013: Speaking to the
AFP, Fadlallah Ahmed Abdallah, an MP with the National Congress Party, announced plans to secede from the NCP and form a new party following the government response to the protests. Abdallah claimed that the name and structure of the new party would be announced within a week. ==Arrests and repression==