Sudan police shoot live fire outside home of dead protester

Protests in Sudan have escalated in the past days against the administration. (File/AFP)
  • Around 2,000 mourners had gathered in the Burri neighborhood where the man, Moawia Othman, was shot on Thursday
  • child and a doctor were also shot dead in Burri on Thursday, the Sudan Doctors’ Committee, a group linked to the opposition, said

KHARTOUM: Sudanese police shot live ammunition as mourners gathered outside the home of a 60-year-old protester who died early on Friday from a gunshot wound sustained during anti-government demonstrations, a Reuters witness said.
Two to three thousand mourners had gathered in Khartoum's Burri neighbourhood where the 60-year-old man, Moawia Othman, was shot on Thursday evening during demonstrations against the 30-year-old rule of President Omar al-Bashir.
Before police opened fire, some mourners had pelted police nearby with rocks and damaged a police car, a Reuters witness said. The mourners blocked a main street in Burri with stones and chanted "There is no God but God!" and "Martyr! Martyr!". Several were wailing and crying and some were carrying Sudanese flags.
There were no immediate reports of casualties.
The protests, now in a fifth week, were triggered by price rises, but have quickly developed into demonstrations against Bashir. Bashir has blamed the protests on foreign "agents" and said the unrest would not lead to a change in government, challenging his opponents to seek power through the ballot box.
In violent clashes in Burri on Thursday, a child and a doctor were shot dead, the Sudan Doctors' Committee, a group linked to the opposition, said. A live video posted on social media and verified by Reuters showed security forces pointing guns at protesters in Burri. A sound of gunfire could be heard.
After Friday's shooting outside Othman's home, thousands attended his funeral at a cemetery across from a police officers' club. Clashes with police had calmed by the time protesters transported the body to Burri Mosque.