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TEHRAN, Jan 9 - Hundreds of people gathered in Sudan's capital Wednesday in a show of support for President Omar al-Bashir's embattled regime after deadly anti-government protests erupted across the country last month.
TEHRAN, Young Journalists Club (YJC) - The rally by crowds of men and women backing Bashir, who has ruled Sudan since 1989 when he swept to power in a coup, came as rival protesters prepared to stage their own demonstration in Khartoum.
Hundreds of riot policemen, soldiers and security agents, some carrying machine guns, were deployed around the site of the pro-Bashir rally in the Green Yard, a large open ground in the city, an AFP correspondent reported.
Men, women and children carrying banners supporting Bashir arrived in buses from early in the morning.
The rally was the first held in Khartoum in support of Bashir since protests erupted.
Angry demonstrators have taken to the streets since December after a government decision to triple the price of bread at a time when the country has been hit by an acute shortage of foreign currency and inflation of 70 percent.
Protests that initially broke out in towns and villages before spreading to Khartoum quickly turned into anti-government rallies, with analysts describing them as the biggest threat yet to Bashir's regime.
Authorities say at least 19 people including two security personnel have been killed during the demonstrations, but rights group Amnesty International has put the death toll at 37.
Crowds chanting "Allahu Akbar" (God is greatest) and "Yes, Yes Bashir we will follow you" welcomed the president at the rally with a group of ministers and top officials.
Source: AFP
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