Sudan's Internet goes down amid riots

Sudan has been cut off from the Internet Wednesday afternoon, amid riots in the capital city of Khartoum after fuel subsidies were cut.

A graph of Internet activity reveals a complete outage of all connection in the country. According to the Renesys, a company that monitors global Internet activity, it appears that the government has caused the outage to prevent sharing images of brutal attacks on social media.

"It is either a coincidental catastrophic failure of all three independent Internet providers and their connections out of Sudan, including a terrestrial link into Egypt -- unlikely given its not just a single connection -- or some centrally directed, government action," Renesys senior analyst Doug Madory told the Guardian.

Members of the militant group al-Shabab reportedly live-tweeted a deadly attack at Kenya's Westgate mallover the weekend. Each time Twitter shut the account down -- a total of five times, according to a U.S.-based security analyst -- al-Shabab started a new feed. The sixth account included a post on Tuesday linking to a photo that purported to be two of the attackers "unruffled and strolling around the mall in such sangfroid manner" and mocking Kenya's security forces for their repeated assurances over two days -- also tweeted -- that the siege was nearly over.

In Khartoum, meanwhile, Sudanese security forces fired tear gas to disperse dozens of protesters who demonstrated and torched a police station in the north of the capital.

President Uhuru Kenyatta said Kenya "stared down evil and triumphed."

At least two people have died in three days of rioting over the lifting of fuel subsidies. Officials condemn the protests as acts of sabotage, describing them as "premeditated."

Wednesday's protests took place in several areas of Kadro district, 15 miles from the capital's city center, where protesters blocked roads using lengths of pipe and burning tires. They also attacked a police station.

The riots that began in the state of Gezira, south of Khartoum, have turned into a call for the ouster of President Omar al-Bashir, who has ruled the country for more than two decades. The rioting started after Sudan's government decided to lift the subsidies, immediately doubling prices of gasoline and fuel.

The semiofficial Sudan Media Center on Wednesday quoted Gezira governor Al-Zubair Bashir Taha as saying that aside from police stations, riots there targeted power and gas stations, banks, shops and private property. Police are tracking down the "saboteurs," he said.

A day earlier, his deputy, Mohammed al-Kamil Fadallah said the civilians killed in violence in the regional capital of Wad Medani were a student and a bus driver in their early 20s.

The SMC also quoted the deputy head of the Sudanese parliament, Samiya Ahmed Mohammed, as saying she hopes the "opposition understands the measures with objectivity."

Sudan lost most of its main oil-producing territory when South Sudan broke off as an independent state in 2011.

An initial attempt by the government to cut subsidies sparked similar protests but they were quelled by a heavy crackdown on protesters, activists and journalists.

• Kenya mall attack details emerge but death toll unclear
• Harvard grad among the casualties in Kenya mall attack
• Al-Shabab showed gruesome social media savvy during attack

Al-Bashir is wanted by International Criminal Court on allegations linked to the conflict in Sudan's western region of Darfur where an estimated 300,000 people have died since 2003 due to fighting between government-backed tribes and rebels.

Al-Bashir received an invitation to attend the U.N. General Assembly and applied for a visa to enter the U.S. The State Department said Washington received a visa request but that before going to U.N. headquarters, al-Bashir should present himself to the ICC.

Sudan condemned Washington's response, and Sudan's Foreign Ministry said the U.S. is "not qualified ... to offer sermons and advice" on international law and human rights. Sudan's statement also criticized U.S. support for Israel, and called on Washington to swiftly grant al-Bashir a visa.