Sudan security forces arrest Khartoum University lecturers

Eight members were arrested after security forces attempted to block academic staff from joining the mass protests outside the institution. The move marked the first time members of Sudan's oldest and most renowned university joined protests that erupted last month. 

Some 100 other professors and lecturers were forced back into the university where they were kettled by security forces for nearly three hours, Reuters reported.

"We demand the president of the republic to step down," one placard read carried by the lecturers inside the club house, according to pictures posted on social media.

A police spokesman could not immediately be reached to comment.

Deadly anti-government protests have rocked Sudanese cities including Khartoum since 19 December, when unrest first broke out over a government decision to raise the price of bread.

Authorities say at least 19 people including two security personnel have been killed in clashes during the demonstrations so far, but rights group Amnesty International has put the death toll at 37.

On Sunday, crowds of protesters gathered in areas of downtown Khartoum after a group organising anti-government rallies called for a march on the palace.

But riot police were quick to move in and disperse the protesters with tear gas, witnesses said.

"Police are not even allowing 10 people to gather," a witness said.

Video footage posted on social media networks showed protesters fleeing down streets and alleyways in the downtown area trying to escape the noxious gas.

The Sudanese Professionals' Association, a group of doctors, teachers and engineers, had called Saturday for the march after organising similar rallies in recent weeks.

As protesters attempted the march, Sudan's Labour Minister Bahar Idris announced that a pro-government rally would be held Wednesday at Khartoum's Green Yard, a large open ground in the capital.

The rally would express "the choice of the Sudanese people and address the present crisis", Idris, a former rebel from war-torn Darfur, told reporters at a press conference.

Wednesday's rally would be the first pro-regime demonstration since anti-government protests erupted last month.

Sudanese authorities have launched a crackdown on opposition leaders, activists and journalists to prevent the spread of protests that initially broke out outside of Khartoum.

The country has been facing a mounting economic crisis over the past year led by an acute shortage of foreign currency.

The cost of some commodities including medicines has more than doubled and inflation has hit 70 percent.

Food and fuel shortages have been regularly reported across several cities, including Khartoum.

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