Protests Fueled by Facebook Begin in Sudan, Too

In southern voting results, 99% want to split from north
By John Johnson,  Newser Staff
Posted Jan 30, 2011 12:52 PM CST
Protests Fueled by Facebook Begin in Sudan, Too
A Southern Sudanese man dons the flag of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement during the announcement of preliminary referendum results in Juba, southern Sudan, Sunday.   (Pete Muller)

Protesters inspired by the goings-on in Egypt and Tunisia took to the streets of Sudan today. Riot police beat demonstrators in Khartoum and in the western city of el-Obeid who called for the resignation of Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, reports Reuters. It notes that a "Youth for Change" Facebook page that coordinated protests in the country had drawn more than 15,000 followers.

"The stubborn students wanted to start chaos," said a police officer in Khartoum. "They sung songs praising protests in Tunisia and Egypt (and) threw stones at the police, but we controlled them." The protests, which follow similar events in Yemen, came on the same day that official results were announced in southern Sudan's vote on secession, notes the Wall Street Journal. Those results were clear: More than 99% voted to split from the North.
(More Sudan stories.)

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