DOHA, Jan. 21 (Xinhua) -- Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir is arriving in Doha on Tuesday, according to the state-run Qatar News Agency (QNA) on Monday.
Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani is expected to meet Bashir at the Emiri Palace on Wednesday to discuss with him friendly relations and issues of mutual interest, QNA said, giving no further details.
Bashir's visit to Doha is his first since demonstrations broke out all over Sudan on December 19, 2018 to protest deteriorating economic conditions and price hikes.
According to Sudanese government statistics, 26 people were killed during these protests that called for an end to his three-decade rule.
Speaking on Sunday before a massive gathering of supporters in the White Nile state, about 392 km southwest of the capital Khartoum, Bashir blamed the killing of anti-government protesters on persons "instructed to infiltrate the protests and kill the protesters in order to fuel the conflict, instigate sedition, and destroy the country."
"The Sudanese people decide who rules them," he told hundreds of his supporters. "This decision is made through the ballot boxes. The year 2020 is not far. We have a year until then."
The emir of Qatar had expressed support for Sudan in a phone call with President Bashir on December 22.
