Sudan's Beja tribes end port shutdowns and road blocks in east

Sudan's Beja tribes announced an end to port shutdowns and road blocks in the east of the country, Saudi-owned Dubai-based al-Arabiya TV reported on Wednesday.

The tribes have blocked roads and forced Red Sea ports to close in recent weeks in protest at what they say is the region's lack of political power and poor economic conditions there. The closures led to shortages of essential medicines, fuel and wheat.

The Beja tribes have expressed support for the military takeover staged by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan.

The coup comes just over two years into a delicate power-sharing arrangement between the military and civilians after the army's ousting during enormous street protests in April 2019 of longtime autocrat Omar al-Bashir.

Top General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan had earlier vouched for Hamdok's "good health", while a military source who requested anonymity said Hamdok had been escorted home, with "security measures" erected "around the perimeter".

Angry citizens stood their ground on barricaded streets where tyres burned, chanting "No to military rule", the day after four people were shot dead by security forces, according to a doctors' group.

In a late Tuesday incident, witnesses in the Bari district of Khartoum said security forces fired tear gas at protesters blocking a main road in opposition to the coup.