Sudanese police disperse rally urging president’s ouster

CAIRO – Sudan’s state-run news agency says police used tear gas to disperse anti-government protests in the capital, Khartoum, and other cities across the country.

SUNA quoted police spokesman Hashem Ali as saying that security forces on Sunday arrested a “number of protesters” and filed charges against them under emergency laws declared by President Omar al-Bashir in February.

Ali says police received reports of injuries both among policemen and protesters. He didn’t elaborate.

Sudan has been gripped by nationwide protests since mid-December. Opposition parties and professional unions have called on al-Bashir to step down after three decades in power.

Price hikes and food shortages triggered the current wave of unrest. Al-Bashir’s government has met the protests with a heavy-handed crackdown and banned unauthorized public gatherings.