Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir has vowed to brutally crush anti-regime protests in a warning that will see demonstrators cracked down in the same violent way as protests were suppressed in 2013.
“In the past few days we have heard some people who are hiding behind their keyboards calling for the overthrow of the regime,” Al-Bashir informed a crowd at the town of Kasala.
“We want to tell them that if you want to overthrow the regime then face us directly on the streets. I challenge you to come out onto the streets,” he explained.
“But we know you will not come because you know what happened in the past… this regime will not be overthrown by keyboards and WhatsApp,” Bashir further added on state television.
Bashir’s warning comes as opposition activists publicly called for a two-day strike on 19 and 20 December to protest the government’s decision to cut fuel subsidies which had led to an increase in prices in necessities such as medicines. The activists urged people online to stage street protests nationwide to “overthrow the regime”.
The warning is set to remind the nation of the suppression in 2013 where public anger against subsidy cuts resulted in government forces’ cracking down on protesters and killing dozens of people.
Around 200 people were killed in the crackdown according to rights groups but government official figures put the number as less than 100.
In recent weeks, groups of people have staged sporadic demonstrations against the latest cuts but they were swiftly dispersed by anti-riot police.