Sudanese dies after setting himself on fire

Agence France-Presse
Sudanese man dies after setting himself on fire
Jan. 25, 2011

KHARTOUM — A 25-year-old Sudanese man who was hospitalised at the weekend after setting himself on fire in a suburb of Khartoum died from his wounds on Tuesday, medical sources said.

Al-Amin Musa Al-Amin, a labourer from Darfur, poured petrol over himself shortly after Friday prayers and lit it as he stood in Suq al-Shaabi, a market in Omdurman, Khartoum's twin city, witnesses said.

The young man was rushed to Omdurman hospital's intensive care unit, where he was treated for second-degree burns. He died at around 2:00 am (2300 GMT Monday), the medical sources told AFP.

The self-immolation in December of a 26-year-old Tunisian street vendor in protest at economic hardship and repression triggered a month of street protests that toppled veteran strongman Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali after 23 years in power.

It also sparked a series of copycat public torchings this month in Egypt, Algeria, Mauritania, Morocco and Saudi Arabia as well as Sudan.

Widespread economic and political discontent in north Sudan, where the security forces exert tight control, has led to sporadic protests in recent weeks.

Police and students clashed for two days in Gezira, an irrigated farming area south of Khartoum, in protests against tough austerity measures the government pushed through on January 5 in response to escalating import costs.

Last week, armed police used tear gas to disperse hundreds of Sudanese activists demonstrating for the release of Islamist opposition leader Hassan al-Turabi, who was detained 48 hours earlier after calling for a Tunisia-style uprising.