Police use tear gas in Khartoum protests KHARTOUM, Sudan, June 30 (UPI) -- Police in the Sudanese capital of Khartoum and two suburbs used tear gas to break up protests against the government's austerity measures. The protests Friday were prompted by President Omar al-Bashir's announcement of steep cuts in government spending, including ending a popular fuel subsidy, Voice of America reported. Many protesters also called for Bashir and his National Congress Party to step down. Witnesses said the rallies Friday occurred in Khartoum and its suburbs of Omdurman and Bahri. The witnesses said police fired tear gas to scatter demonstrators in the streets after prayers. Before the demonstrations, U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay called on Sudanese authorities to refrain from violence and mass arrests to stop the protests, VOA said. Pillay said journalists, activists and others have been arrested since demonstrations began June 17. Bashir called the protests the work of a few isolated activists and said he would continue with the planned spending cuts. Sudan has seen a dramatic drop in revenue since South Sudan shut down oil production and stopped using northern pipelines after it became independent last July.