February 03, 2011

Inspired by the events in Tunisia and Egypt, there is a growing youth movement in Sudan that is protesting the ruling government. President Omar al-Bashir has been in charge of the country for 21 years. Messages calling for protests began to appear on Facebook, and in the past week thousands of young Sudanese have begun protesting. Like in Tunisia and Egypt, the protesters are upset about the poor economy, the rising price of food, unemployment, and political repression. Although each individual protest is not very big -- sometimes a dozen people, sometimes a few hundred -- they are well-organized and they're happening all across northern Sudan. They're becoming more widespread. The police have cracked down hard on these protests. Many protesters have been beaten with batons and sticks, and some have been arrested. One protester has died as a result of injuries caused by the police. (Full Story)

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Violence has broken out in Egypt as Mubarak supporters clash with protesters. Thousands of Mubarak supporters flooded the capital  yesterday and this sparked violent clashes. The showdown started when men riding camel and horses started hitting the protesters with whips and clubs. Then both sides started attacking each other with rocks, sticks, and firebombs (e.g., Molotov cocktails). There has also been gunfire. A portion of the Egyptian Museum in Cairo was sit on fire by a Molotov cocktail. So far eight people have been killed as a result of the violence over the last two days. Five of the dead were shot by Mubarak loyalists. It is believed that more than 800 people have been injured. Initially the military stood by neutrally, but it seems as if they are now making more of an effort to keep the rival groups apart. The Prime Minister and Vice President both vowed to find those responsible for the violence (though some observers say that the attacks were orchestrated by the government and that the mobs were encouraged by Mubarak).

In addition, many foreign journalists have been attacked by pro-Mubarak mobs and some journalists have even been detained. Journalists have reported being been beaten with sticks and fists.  In addition, there have been reports that security forces and mob members have stolen or destroyed their media equipment. The mobs are unhappy with the journalists bringing attention to the protesters and for reporting on the violence against the protesters. The Egyptian government has accused the foreign media of being sympathetic to the protesters. This is obviously an organized effort to hinder reporting and to intimidate journalists.

The Egyptian government has announced recently that Mubarak's son will not take his father's place and will not run in the upcoming presidential election. Mubarak also told ABC News that he wants to step down, but fears that there would be chaos if he did (yeah....nice excuse).  (Full Story) (Full Story) (Full Story)