Sudanese security agents arrested a senior opposition politician on Friday for giving a speech that criticised a government decision to raise fuel prices, his party said. Agents from the all-powerful National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS) arrested Khaled Omar, deputy chief of the Sudanese Congress party, at his home in Khartoum.
"He was taken by security agents after he had returned from delivering a speech which criticised the government's latest economic decisions," a party statement said. Late on Thursday, Sudan hiked the prices of petrol and diesel by about 30 percent in an attempt to help stabilise the country's battered economy.
Fuel price rises have been a sensitive issue in Sudan, where the economy has been badly hit since 2011 when South Sudan gained independence and took nearly three quarters of the formerly united country's oil reserves with it. In September 2013, the government slashed fuel subsidies, sparking street protests as retail prices soared by more than 60 percent. In an ensuing crackdown by security forces, dozens of protesters were killed.
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