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KHARTOUM: Dozens of Sudanese demonstrators blocked Port Sudan airport in the country’s east, days after protesters closed a crucial port to deplore a peace deal between rebels and the government, witnesses said.
In October last year, several rebel groups signed a landmark accord with the transitional military-civilian government which came to power shortly after the April 2019 ouster of long-time autocrat Omar Bashir.
The Hadendoa tribe, the largest subdivision of the Beja people in Sudan’s impoverished east, have criticized the fragile peace deal saying it does not represent them.
A spokesman for Badr Airlines, which has a daily flight between Port Sudan and the capital Khartoum, said it has suspended operations due to the unrest.
Witnesses told AFP that demonstrators also blocked a bridge linking Kassala with the rest of the country on Friday.
They said public transport and motorists were barred from entering of leaving the riverfront city of Kassala.
Since Monday, demonstrators have impeded access to Port Sudan, the country’s main seaport and a vital trade hub for its crippled economy dependent on exports.
Abdullah Abu Shar, a leader of the Beja people, confirmed the latest developments suggesting his tribe was behind the unrest.