(Bloomberg) -- Sudanese authorities arrested 816 people over the past three weeks during protests against President Omar al-Bashir's rule, Interior Minister Ahmed Bilal Osman said.
Clashes between security forces and demonstrators also left 198 people injured, 68 of them civilians, Osman told lawmakers Monday in the capital, Khartoum. Those detained face prosecution on charges including looting and damage to government property, he said.
Widespread discontent with soaring living costs has fueled a wave of protests that's posed one of the greatest challenges to Bashir, 75, since he came to power in a 1989 Islamist-backed coup. Thousands of protesters last week blocked streets and attempted to march toward the presidential palace while calling on Bashir to resign.
At least 19 people have died in the protests.
Click here to read a backgrounder about the protests
To contact the reporter on this story: Mohammed Alamin in Khartoum at malamin1@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Antony Sguazzin at asguazzin@bloomberg.net, Paul Richardson, Hilton Shone
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