KHARTOUM (Reuters) - Police in Sudan fired tear gas and wielded batons on Friday to break up a protest in Khartoum against government land policies, three witnesses said.
About 500 demonstrators closed two main streets in the eastern al-Jarif district. The protesters, who say they have a right to land that the government has allocated to investors, threw stones at police and burned tyres.
Government critics say there is a crackdown on dissent. Most of the opposition boycotted an April election which President Omar Hassan al-Bashir won, thereby extending his quarter-century rule.
"Men, women and young people from al-Jarif went out today in a peaceful protest," Othman, a resident of al-Jarif, told Reuters. "We are demanding our land and our rights that the government has taken away from us. The government responded with violence: protesters were hit and tear gas was fired," he said.
Mohamed Saleh said he had seen the two main roads of al-Jarif blocked and fire from burning tyres. "There were men and women in the protest and the police were surrounding the demonstrators," Saleh told Reuters.
District government officials and police were not immediately available for comment.
In February police broke up a rally in Khartoum prompted by the death of a woman who had earlier demonstrated against government land policies, witnesses said.
President Bashir took a more conciliatory tone after his re-election, appealing for national unity as he grapples with rebellions and dwindling oil revenues.