Demonstrations expand east of Sudan

The demonstrators of the Sea Ports Authority workers in Port Sudan have noticeably escalated, as they expanded from Port Sudan locality to Oseif, and today, Thursday, the protesters closed the northern coastal road linking (Port Sudan – Oseif) in an astonishingly abrupt escalation of the crisis.

The presidium of the Sea Ports Authority in Port Sudan witnessed a state of demonstrations and closure during the past two days, as the protesters demanded the reinstation of Captain Taha to his former position as Director of the port of (Digna), with the appointment of Abdullah Hussein as his deputy. These protests clearly reflect the dissatisfaction of the port workers with the recent administrative decisions.

Press sources reported that the Sea Ports Authority has responded to the demands of the protesters, as Captain Taha Ahmed Mohamed Mukhtar was reinstated as Director of the port of (Digna), which -naturally- meant the cancellation of the decision to transfer him to the port of (Bashaer). This step comes within the framework of the authority’s attempt to deescalate the situation and restore stability to the port.

The de facto authority in Port Sudan was rather taken by surprise when the spark of protests was rekindled and the crisis subsequently was exacerbated despite the administrative measures to deescalate the situation. Reliable sources suggested that the protesters raised slogans that called for the expulsion of the Armed Movements and battalions of the Islamic Movement supporting the Army in its raging war against the Rapid Support Forces – from eastern Sudan.

The Minister of Finance of the de facto authority in Port Sudan, Gibril Ibrahim, seeks to control the port of Port Sudan, to impose a group of senior employees in the port, and to replace the departments’ directors with leaders from the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) he heads.