Security forces were heavily deployed and internet services cut in Sudan's capital Khartoum on Thursday ahead of pro-democracy protests, Reuters reporters said, the first time for months that web access had been blocked in the lead up to rallies.
A witness and activists said security forces had fired large amounts of tear gas at protest points in Khartoum as some demonstrators began to gather. Protesters barricaded some of the city's main thoroughfares with stones and burning tyres, witnesses said.