The family of a Sudanese opposition leader on Wednesday said security forces had detained one of its members amid anti-government protests.
Sadiq al-Mahdi’s family says security forces stormed Mariam Sadiq’s home in the capital Khartoum and took her away, a day after the country’s security chief ordered the release of dozens of detained protesters.
The was no response from the government at the time of publication of this article.
Miriam is the deputy head of the opposition Umma Party headed by her father – who is Sudan’s last democratically elected prime minister and was overthrown by President Omar al-Bashir in a coup in 1989.
Miriam has been reported to support the rare protests that have hit Sudan since December over a shortage of fuel and bread prices. The protesters are calling for an end to al-Bashir’s three-decade rule.
Rights groups allege that clashes between security forces and the protesters have killed at least 45, though official figures from the government say those who have lost their lives are 30.
Sadiq al-Mahdi returned to Sudan last month from nearly a year in self-imposed exile and called for a democratic transition before thousands of supporters.
