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| Sudanese leading opposition figure Sadiq al-Mahdi addresses his supporters after he returned from nearly a year in self-imposed exile in Khartoum, Sudan December 19, 2018. REUTERS/Mohamed Nureldin Abdallah |
The leader of Sudanโs largest opposition party, Sadiq al-Mahdi, called on the government to bow to mass protests and resign as he addressed hundreds of supporters in a mosque across the River Nile from Khartoum on Friday.
Hundreds of protesters then marched through Omdurman after Friday prayers, until police fired teargas to try to break up the rally.
Students, activists and other protesters have mounted almost daily protests across Sudan since Dec. 19, calling for an end to economic hardships and mounting the most sustained challenge to President Omar al-Bashirโs three decades in power.
โThe most important demand is that this regime must leave and be replaced by a transitional government,โ Mahdi said at the mosque, which has links to his Umma Party.
The former prime minister expressed support for the protests and condemned security forcesโ use of live bullets, saying 50 people had been killed since unrest began. The official death toll stands at 30, including two security personnel.
Bashir has blamed the protests on foreign โagentsโ and challenged his rivals to seek power through the ballot box.
