Tear gas clouds hang over Sudanese protest KHARTOUM, Sudan, June 29 (UPI) -- Sudanese security forces fired tear-gas canisters at protesters during demonstrations Friday, an opposition spokesman said. Student protests in Khartoum erupted June 17 as the government announced plans to move forward with austerity measures. Sudan's economy was hurt by South Sudan's independence last year. Sudan, as part of the deal, maintained authority over export routes while South Sudan took control over most of the regional oil fields. South Sudan in January halted oil production to protest Khartoum. Protesters dubbed Friday demonstrations an "elbow-licking" rally. Aides to Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir had said trying to oust the president was like trying to lick your own elbow. Ahmed Samir, a pseudonym used by the spokesman for the activist group Sudan Change Now, told CNN that security forces had fired tear gas on demonstrators. "They are attacking people inside mosques," he said. Protesters inside al-Sayid Ali and al-Sayid Abdelrahman mosques (in Khartoum) have had tear gas canisters fired at them. World leaders have criticized Khartoum for responding to the ongoing demonstrations with force. A spokeswoman for the U.S. State Department said force was no way to settle the country's economic problems.