West Kordofan protests against fraud in distribution of fuel, sugar

21/05/2018 13:48 ABU ZABAD

Hundreds of West Kordofanis staged protests against the continuing fuel crisis in Abu Zabad on Sunday. A security officer was killed in a row at a fuel station in the capital of West Darfur.
“People erected tents at El Hurriya Square in the centre of the town, while others crowded in front of fuel pumps in protest against the authorities’ manipulation of the fuel and sugar quotas and the power outages for more than two weeks,” one of the protesters told Radio Dabanga.
The water pumps in the town are stalled because of because of the power cuts. “The price of a barrel of water rose to SDG 60 ($ 2*),” he said.
“We demand from the authorities of Abu Zabad locality to disclose the exact quota of subsidized fuel set by the state to operate the power and water stations,” he explained. “We also want to know why 1,000 [50 kg] sacks of subsidized sugar are now sold by traders at the markets.”
The protesters plan to stay at the square until their demands are met.
Altercation
On Saturday evening, an officer of the Economic Security Service with the rank of captain was killed and a resident was wounded at a fuel station in El Geneina, capital of West Darfur.
Newspapers in Khartoum reported on Sunday that the officer and a civilian clashed over the distribution of fuel at a fuel station in El Geneina.
The officer was reportedly forced to use his gun to resolve the dispute. Yet he himself was hit by a bullet in his head, and died instantly. His opponent was injured.

Protest against water outages in Khartoum, June 2015 (file photo)

Hundreds of West Kordofanis staged protests against the continuing fuel crisis in Abu Zabad on Sunday. A security officer was killed in a row at a fuel station in the capital of West Darfur.

“People erected tents at El Hurriya Square in the centre of the town, while others crowded in front of fuel pumps in protest against the authorities’ manipulation of the fuel and sugar quotas and the power outages for more than two weeks,” one of the protesters told Radio Dabanga.

The water pumps in the town are stalled because of because of the power cuts. “The price of a barrel of water rose to SDG 60 ($ 2*),” he said.

“We demand from the authorities of Abu Zabad locality to disclose the exact quota of subsidized fuel set by West Kordofan state to operate the power and water stations,” he explained. “We also want to know why 1,000 [50 kg] sacks of subsidized sugar are now sold by traders at the markets.”

The protesters plan to stay at the square until their demands are met.

Altercation

On Saturday evening, an officer of the Economic Security Service with the rank of captain was killed and a resident was wounded at a fuel station in El Geneina, capital of West Darfur.

Newspapers in Khartoum reported on Sunday that the officer and a civilian clashed over the distribution of fuel at a petrol station in El Geneina.

The officer was reportedly forced to use his gun to resolve the dispute. Yet he himself was hit by a bullet in his head and died instantly. His opponent was injured.

* Based on the indicative US Dollar rate quoted by the Central Bank of Sudan (CBoS)