Sudan Protests Resume After President Addresses Nation

Demonstrations resumed in Sudanese capital Khartoum on Wednesday hours after President Omar al-Bashir addressed the nation in a televised speech.



Protests also resumed in Omdurman, Sudan's second largest city, where demonstrators could be heard chanting anti-regime slogans.



Police have continued to use teargas -- in addition to live ammunition in some cases -- to disperse angry protesters.



In his address, al-Bashir pledged to engage in "national dialogue" with opposition parties and rebel groups, which he urged to return to the negotiation table in the run-up to elections slated for 2020.



"We want to resolve our country's crises through dialogue," he said. "We therefore call on the opposition and rebels to enter into national dialogue so we can sit down together and solve our problems."



Al-Bashir went on to accuse western countries of covertly inciting Sudan's economic crisis and plotting with "mercenaries" to destabilize the country.



"We will not tolerate sabotage by foreign elements," he asserted.



For the last three weeks, Sudan has been rocked by countrywide protests in which dozens of people have reportedly been killed. -