Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir banned unlicensed public gatherings and gave sweeping new powers to police in a series of emergency decrees on Monday to counter the most sustained anti-government street unrest of his 30-year rule.
The decrees came amid fresh protests in various parts of the capital Khartoum, where security forces used tear gas against hundreds of students demonstrating inside the campus of the country’s oldest women’s university.
Security forces were given the power to search any building, restrict movement of people and public transport, arrest individuals suspected of a crime related to the state of emergency and seize assets or property during investigations.
Prosecutors were given the authority to strip people such as lawmakers and military officials of immunity and set up special emergency courts. Publishing news that “harms the state or citizens, or calls for undermining the constitutional system” was also banned on punishment of up to 10 years in jail.
Bashir also announced a ban on trading or hoarding fuel products and subsidised goods and jail terms for people travelling abroad carrying more than $3,000 in currency or 150 grammes of gold.
Protesters have staged almost daily demonstrations since December, demanding that Bashir, who came to power in a 1989 military coup, step down. The protests were initially inspired by high prices for bread but have turned into a sustained campaign against Bashir and his government.
Security forces have responded with tear gas and sometimes live fire. At least 33 people have died, according to official statistics, including three members of security forces. Protesters believe the true death toll is higher.
In the latest protests on Monday, witnesses said security forces fired tear gas against hundreds of female students who had demonstrated inside their Ahfad university campus, one of the country’s most prestigious academic institutions.
They said some students burned tyres outside the campus gate.
“We had a protest stand demanding freedom and to end injustice,” said a 21-year-old student who declined to be identified. There were no immediate reports of casualties. A police spokesman was not immediately available for comment.
Witnesses also reported a separate protest in downtown Khartoum, where hundreds of demonstrators blocked the main road. Security forces dispersed a separate demonstration in the upscale Maamoura district in eastern Khartoum on Monday night, witnesses said.