SUDANESE security forces detained the leader of the country’s Communist Party in the small hours of this morning.

Muhammad Mukhtar al-Khatieb was arrested in a raid on his home at 3am — a day after a protest in the capital Khartoum organised by the Sudanese Communist Party (SCP) against austerity measures that raised the price of bread.

SCP politburo member Fathi Alfadl said that more than 50 political leaders, campaigners and journalists had been detained since yesterday’s demonstration.