Sudan: mass protests

The internal situation in Sudan, which has been characterized by a continuous political and economic crisis since 2011, at the end of 2018 has reached a new level of tension. Since December 19, 2018, almost the entire country has been embraced by mass protests, often turning into violent clashes between protesters and security forces using tear gas, rubber batons, less commonly firearms. In a number of cities, protesters burned down buildings of the ruling Party of the National Congress (PNK), the National Intelligence and Security Service (NSSR), and a number of local administrations. On February 9, 2019, the Prosecutor General's Office of Sudan confirmed the deaths of 31 people during the demonstrations; according to estimates by Human Rights Watch and some other international human rights organizations, the death toll exceeded 50. Hundreds of participants (according to opposition figures - about 2 thousand) ended up in prisons. In December alone, about 400 protests took place in the country.