Bashir accuses media of exaggerating Sudan protests

Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir is accusing the media of exaggerating the size of the problem he is facing at home, where he has faced weeks of protests against his rule.

His remarks come during a news conference in Cairo following a meeting with his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.

Bashir’s visit to Egypt is his second trip abroad since the demonstrations erupted in Sudan last month against worsening economic hardships before mushrooming into calls for an end to his three decades in power.

“There is a problem (in Sudan), we are not claiming that there is not. But it’s not of the size or extent raised in some media,” says Bashir.

The protests were “an attempt to clone the so-called Arab Spring in Sudan,” he says, referring to similarities between slogans and use of social media in uprisings that hit the region in 2010-2011.

Angry crowds of Sudanese protesters have been seen in videos posted online chanting “The people want the downfall of the regime,” a signature slogan of the Arab Spring.

Meanwhile, people flocked to the streets of Khartoum and Omdurman on Sunday to hold sit-ins in several squares, responding to a call by the Sudanese Professionals Association which is leading the protest campaign.

— AFP