Protests against soaring living costs have erupted in towns countrywide, prompting a brutal crackdown by the security forces and pleas to other countries for financial help. South Sudan assumed control over most oil fields, stripping the al-Bashir administration of a large chunk of its revenue and foreign exchange. Rights group Amnesty International says it’s received credible reports that 37 people were shot dead by security forces in the first five days. Prior to South Sudan’s succession, Sudan ranked as sub-Saharan Africa’s third-largest oil exporter, and it still produced 72,000 barrels of oil a day in 2017, latest available data shows. While street protests helped topple Sudan’s government in 1964, the security forces quashed uprisings in 2013 and 2018, and there are no signs that their loyalty to the 75-year-old president is wavering.

Source: Washington Post January 03, 2019 16:52 UTC