KHARTOUM, Sudan (AP) — A Sudanese medical union says at least one person has been shot dead by security forces near a sit-in outside the military's headquarters in the capital, Khartoum.

The Sudan Doctors Committee says the shooting took place late Saturday on Nile Street and that at least 11 people were wounded.

Two people were killed in the area last week.

The doctors committee is part of the Sudanese Professionals Association, which has been spearheading the protests that led to the military overthrow of longtime ruler Omar al-Bashir in April.

Tens of thousands have staged a sit-in outside the military headquarters since April 6, following nearly four months of protests against al-Bashir.

Tensions have risen as negotiations remain deadlocked between protesters and the generals, who took over the country after al-Bashir's ouster. </s> KHARTOUM, Sudan (AP) — A Sudanese medical union says at least one person has been shot dead by security forces near a sit-in outside the military’s headquarters in the capital, Khartoum.

The Sudan Doctors Committee says the shooting took place late Saturday on Nile Street and that at least 11 people were wounded.

Two people were killed in the area last week.

The doctors committee is part of the Sudanese Professionals Association, which has been spearheading the protests that led to the military overthrow of longtime ruler Omar al-Bashir in April.

Tens of thousands have staged a sit-in outside the military headquarters since April 6, following nearly four months of protests against al-Bashir.

Tensions have risen as negotiations remain deadlocked between protesters and the generals, who took over the country after al-Bashir’s ouster. </s> At least five protesters were killed and scores injured as Sudanese security forces moved in to clear the main protest camp near the army headquarters in the capital Khartoum, according to protest organizers.

“Militias belong to the government have aggressively attacked thousands of civilians in the sit-in,” The Sudanese Professional Association (SPA) said in a statement.

The Central Committee of Sudan Doctors (CCSD) said five protesters were killed and many others injured as security forces cleared the camp. Opposition negotiator Abbas Medani was reportedly injured during the dispersal, according to eyewitnesses.

The sit-in near the army headquarters has been a magnet point for protesters to demand the Transitional Military Council (TMC) hand over power to a civilian government.

“We are holding the TMC responsible of what happened this morning,” SPA said, going on to call on protesters “to join the sit-in to resist this attempt”.

In early April, Sudan’s military establishment deposed long-serving President Omar al-Bashir following months of popular demonstrations against his 30-year rule. The TMC is now overseeing a two-year transitional period during which it has pledged to hold presidential elections. Demonstrators, however, have remained on the streets to demand that the TMC relinquish power at the earliest possible date to a civilian authority. </s> KHARTOUM, Sudan (AP) - Sudanese military officials said Sunday that troops were attempting to remove “drug dealers and other criminals” from an area located near a protest sit-in in the capital, Khartoum. This comes a day after a Sudanese medical union said one person was shot dead by security forces in the same area, located along the banks of the Nile river.

The man, in his 20s, was the third killed in less than a week in the area around Nile street, which the military officials described as “lawless.”

On Thursday, security forces killed a 20-year-old man, while the previous day, a gunfight between security forces had erupted near the sit-in, killing a female street vendor by mistake.

The area is not far from where tens of thousands of protesters have been camped outside the military’s headquarters, the epicenter of Sudan’s uprising that led to the military overthrow of longtime ruler Omar al-Bashir in April.

The protesters are now calling for “limited military representation” in a sovereign council that would lead the country as it transitions to civilian rule over a three-year period.

The military officials said the Nile street area was being “cleared” by forces mainly from the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, led by Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo - better known as Hemedti - who serves as deputy head of the ruling military council. The officials said security agencies have been attempting to carry out a “security plan to clear the area and put an end to such criminal acts.” Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to reporters.

The Sudan Doctors Committee said in a statement Saturday that at least 11 people were wounded when “regular forces opened fire on Nile Street near the sit-in area.” The statement did not identify which forces were implicated in the fire.

The doctors committee is part of the Sudanese Professionals Association, which has been spearheading the protests.

Amid these increased tensions and deadlocked transition talks, the leading opposition Umma Party warned on Sunday of an attempt to break up the sit-in and called for the military council to resume negotiations with the protesters.

“There is no choice except to negotiate… to overcome the conflicts at these critical times that threaten the state and the county’s integrity,” the party said in a statement.

Both sides are split over the make-up and leadership of the sovereign council, with the ruling generals refusing to relinquish power.

The protesters are represented by the Forces for Declaration of Freedom and Change, an alliance of opposition groups and activists. </s> Ashraf Shazly, AFP | A Sudanese man holds a national flag as protesters chant slogans during a demonstration outside the army headquarters in Khartoum on May 30, 2019.

At least two people were killed Monday as Sudan’s military council tried to break up a sit-in outside Khartoum’s army headquarters, a doctors’ committee said as gunfire was heard from the protest site.

“Two peaceful protesters were killed by live bullets fired at the orders of the Transitional Military Council,” the Central Committee of Sudanese Doctors said on Twitter without giving further details.

Gunfire was heard from the protest site by an AFP journalist, who reported a heavy deployment of security forces around the streets of the capital.

There were multiple reports of the military using force to disperse the sit-in in front of army headquarters, where protesters have been camped out for weeks.

“Now an attempt is taking place to disperse the sit-in at the headquarters of the people’s armed forces by force by the military council,” said the Sudanese Professionals Association, the group which spearheaded nationwide protests that started in December.

Rallies against the authoritarian rule of Omar al-Bashir led to his ouster in April, but demonstrators have remained to call on the generals to cede power to a transitional authority.

Near the demonstration site, a witness living in the Burri neighbourhood said he could “hear the sound of gunfire and I see a plume of smoke rising from the area of the sit-in.”

Another resident of the area, in east Khartoum, said he had seen forces in “police uniform” trying to expel the demonstrators.

Britain’s ambassador to Khartoum, Irfan Siddiq, said he had heard “heavy gunfire” from his residence.

“Extremely concerned by... reports that Sudanese security forces are attacking the protest sit-in site resulting in casualties. No excuse for any such attack. This. Must. Stop. Now,” he wrote on Twitter.

The SPA said it amounted to a “bloody massacre”, and called on Sudanese to take part in “total civil disobedience” to topple the military council and for people for take to the streets to protest.

Demonstrators had closed off Street 60, one of the main streets in the capital with stone barricades and burning tree trunks and tires, an AFP journalist said.

The SPA had said on Saturday that it had reason to believe the military council was “planning and working to end the peaceful sit-in at the headquarters with excessive force and violence” after three people were killed in incidents on the fringes of the sit-in last week.

Negotiations between protest leaders and the ruling military council have broken down, as the two sides have failed to agree on whether a planned transitional body would be headed by a civilian or a military figure. </s> At least 35 demonstrators were killed and hundreds injured Monday as Sudanese security forces moved in to clear the main protest camp near the army headquarters in the capital, Khartoum.

The latest figures were announced by protest organizers the Central Committee of Sudan Doctors. Eyewitnesses said security forces used live ammunition and teargas to disperse the protesters, who have been camping out near the military headquarters since the ouster of long-serving President Omar al-Bashir in April.

"Militias belonging to the government have aggressively attacked thousands of civilians in the sit-in," the Sudanese Professional Association (SPA) said in an earlier statement.

The Declaration of Freedom and Change alliance earlier said that 13 protesters had been killed and hundreds injured when security forces moved in to disperse the camp.

Opposition negotiator Abbas Medani was reportedly injured during the dispersal, according to eyewitnesses. “We are holding the Transitional Military Council (TMC) responsible for what happened this morning,” the SPA said, calling on protesters “to join the sit-in to resist this attempt”.

“We did not break up the sit-in by force,” spokesman Lieutenant General Shamseddine Kabbashi told Dubai-based Sky News Arabia. “Youth are moving freely and there is no soldier in the protest camp area,” he said. Kabbashi, however, said security forces only raided the “Colombia” area located below the iron bridge of Al-Nil Street in Khartoum, which he described as “dangerous”. He expects talks between protest leaders and the TMC on the transition to civilian rule to resume Monday or Tuesday.

The sit-in near the army headquarters has been the epicenter of protests demanding the TMC hand over power to a civilian government.

In early April, Sudan’s military establishment deposed al-Bashir following months of popular demonstrations against his 30-year rule. The TMC is now overseeing a two-year transitional period during which it has pledged to hold presidential elections. Demonstrators, however, have remained on the streets to demand that the TMC relinquish power at the earliest possible date to a civilian authority. </s> KHARTOUM (Reuters) - Huge crowds marched on Sudan’s defense ministry on Sunday demanding the ruling military hand over power to civilians, and the authorities said at least seven people were killed and scores injured in protests nationwide.

In the biggest demonstrations since a deadly raid by security forces on a protest camp in central Khartoum three weeks ago, tens of thousands of residents took to the streets in several parts of the Sudanese capital.

In two areas near the presidential palace and in the upscale eastern neighborhood of Riyadh, they were met by security forces firing barrages of tear gas, witnesses said.

The deputy head of Sudan’s ruling military council, General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti, said unknown snipers were shooting at civilians and soldiers.

Seven people were killed and 181 wounded, 27 of them by live fire, in protests nationwide, the state news agency reported, citing a Health Ministry undersecretary.

The official said 10 of those injured were members of regular forces, including three conscripts of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), led by Hemedti, who were injured by gunfire. The remaining seven were injured by stones hurled by demonstrators, he added.

A doctor’s group linked to the opposition said at least five protesters were killed and dozens injured during demonstrations in several cities. Reuters could not verify those accounts.

Sudan’s military overthrew president Omar al-Bashir in April after months of demonstrations against his rule.

Opposition groups kept up those demonstrations as they pressed the military to hand over power to civilians. But talks broke down after members of the security services raided the sit-in protest camp outside the defense ministry on June 3.

The Forces for Freedom and Change (FFC) opposition coalition called for a million people to demonstrate on Sunday - the 30th anniversary of the coup that brought Bashir to power, and the African Union’s deadline for Sudan’s military rulers to hand over to civilians or face further sanctions.

Demonstrators hold Sudanese flag as they march on the streets demanding the ruling military hand over to civilians, in Khartoum, Sudan, June 30, 2019. REUTERS/Umit Bektas

“WE WILL NOT RETREAT”

In another part of Khartoum, thousands blocked the main multi-lane highway that leads to the airport as they marched toward the home of a protester who was killed in January.

Protesters waved the Sudanese flag and chanted “civilian, civilian” and “blood for blood,” as Sudan beefed up security across the capital.

“We came out once again for the revolution and we will not retreat until they handover power to a civilian authority,” protester Hassan Ahmed told Reuters.

The Transitional Military Council had warned a day earlier that the opposition coalition would bear the responsibility for any loss of life or damage resulting from Sunday’s protests.

Members of one of the main opposition groups - the Sudanese Professionals’ Association - said the security services raided its headquarters on Saturday night as it was about to give a news conference.

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The United Nations has said it has received reports that more than 100 protesters were killed and many more injured during the June 3 raid on the protest camp.

Military leaders have denied ordering a raid on the camp and said a crackdown on criminals nearby had spilled over.

The council has said some officers had been detained for presumed responsibility, and that it still intends to hand over power after elections.

Mediators led by the African Union and Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed have been trying to broker a return to direct talks. </s> At least 13 people have been killed after security forces stormed a protest camp in the Sudanese capital Khartoum and fired live ammunition to break up a weeks-long sit-in.

The Central Committee of Sudan Doctors, a medical group linked to protesters, said at least 13 people were killed and several wounded in the Monday morning raid, which was still in progress. The committee also said security forces used live ammunition inside East Nile Hospital in Khartoum where some of the wounded were being treated.

In a post on Twitter, the Sudanese Professionals Association (SPA) said the country's ruling Transitional Military Council (TMC) had assigned a large number of troops to disperse the protest camp.

The sound of heavy gunfire was heard in footage broadcast from the scene, while plumes of smoke were seen rising into the sky.

Mohammed Alamin, a journalist in Khartoum, told Al Jazeera troops from the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) first used tear gas then sound grenades to disperse protesters. Soldiers then fired live rounds at the remaining protesters.

"They are now in control of most of the sit-in area and have burnt down the makeshift clinics. Most of the protesters have been dispersed. Soldiers are blocking all entrances to the area with military vehicles to stop protesters from returning," Alamin said.

Madani Abbas Madani, one of the protest leaders, was injured as troops dispersed the protesters, Alamin added.

High tension at the sit-in at army hq in Khartoum. #Sudan’s Central Doctors’ Committee is calling for doctors to mobilize and prepare for emergencies amidst concerns that an attempt will be made to break the sit-in nearly 2 months after it started. https://t.co/NU2GFsIZ45 — Hiba Morgan (@hiba_morgan) June 3, 2019

Speaking to Al Jazeera, witnesses spoke of soldiers being heavily armed and of using live ammunition against protesters who were peaceful and did nothing to provoke the troops.

"We are being attacked by the Rapid Support Forces and the police," Mamadou Abozeid, a protester in Khartoum, told Al Jazeera over the phone.

'Shooting at everyone'

Mohammed Elmunir, another protester in the Sudanese capital, said security forces blocked the exits of the sit-in site before opening fire on protesters.

"They were shooting at everyone randomly and people were running for their lives. They blocked all roads and most tents at the sit-in have been set on fire," Elmunir told Al Jazeera.

"People are very angry right now. They don't know what could happen next. Protesters have dispersed to other parts of the city. They are now on the streets protesting. Most people have blocked the roads in their neighbourhoods," he added.

In a statement, the SPA said the TMC would be held accountable for any bloodshed and called for a campaign of civil disobedience.

"It is imperative to go out to the streets to protect the revolution and the remaining dignity. Our weapons are peace courage," it said in a statement.

"We call on the revolutionaries in all neighbourhoods, villages, towns and cities of Sudan to go out to the streets and start marching, closing all streets and bridges and ports. We call for a comprehensive civil disobedience to bring down the deadly military junta and complete our revolution."

Nawal Osman, a protester in Khartoum, said she and her husband were getting ready to leave their house and join the protesters.

"I am going there now, I live near the protest area," she told Al Jazeera over the phone. "This revolution is staying," she added. "We are all ready to be there, to protect the country and to get rid of those criminals."

Sudanese human rights activist Azaz Elshami said it was not surprising the military had resorted to using deadly force to deal with protesters.

"What is happening is the mask is finally falling. The military is not different from the government before it. They are not what they said they are. They don't want change and they want power for themselves. Now, everyone knows what they are up against. This is a new phase. It might take much longer, but I don't think Sudanese people will back down," Elshami told Al Jazeera.

'Barbaric act'

The sit-in has become the focal point of Sudan's protest movement, which saw longtime autocrat Omar al-Bashir overthrown in April and has since been calling for the generals who replaced him to hand over power to a civilian-led administration.

The operation came days after Sudan's military rulers called the sit-in outside the defence ministry "a danger" to the country's national security and warned that action would be taken against what they called "unruly elements".

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The military also ordered the office of the Al Jazeera Media Network in Khartoum to be shut down, without giving any reason.

It withdrew the work permits for the correspondents and staff of the Qatar-based news organisation.

"People have started putting up barricades in many areas and it seems that the situation is aggravating," Hamid Eldood, a professor at Al-Neelain University, told Al Jazeera from Khartoum.

He added that the latest developments indicated a "tone change" by the members of the TMC following the visit by its head, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and his deputy, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo - also known as Hemeti - "to Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates".

"It is really a barbaric act and it seems Sudan is heading towards civil war and a [bleak] future," Eldood said.

Additional reporting by Mohammed Alamin in Khartoum. </s> At least five protesters, including four high school students, have been shot dead after security forces broke up a student protest in the Sudanese city of El-Obeid, opposition groups have said.

The killings on Monday came a day before protest leaders and ruling generals are set to hold new talks on Sudan's transition following the removal of former leader, Omar al-Bashir.

Gunfire rang out as teenagers rallied against fuel and bread shortages in the capital of North Kordofan state, residents said, at a time of heightened tensions between opposition campaigners and military rulers that took power following Bashir's removal.

A key protest group, the Sudanese Professionals Association (SPA), said "live ammunition" had been used against a "rally of school students" in the central town of El-Obeid.

In a post on its Facebook page, it urged "all citizens and medics" to head to hospitals treating the wounded.

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"We call on our people to take to the streets ... to denounce the Al-Obeid massacre, to demand the perpetrators be brought to justice," said the SPA, which had launched the initial protests.

Authorities announced a nighttime curfew in four Sudanese towns following the incident. There was no immediate statement from the ruling military council.

The acting governor of North Kordofan, Mohamed Khidr Mohamed Hamid, told Al-Arabiya TV there had been a "slight friction" between protesters and security forces. He said he could not confirm who opened fire and a committee would investigate.

Videos circulating on social media purported to show students protesting outside El-Obeid's main hospital against the killings and injuries.

At least 5 were killed, including 4 school children & 1 medic, after #Hemeti's notorious paramilitary #RSF Janjaweed militia opened fire on a protest in El-Obeid, North Kordofan state, #Sudan's 🇸🇩 opposition-linked doctors' committee @Sd_Doctors https://t.co/Ksx4NLJwxV — Saad (@SaadAbedine) July 29, 2019

Al Jazeera's Hiba Morgan, reporting from neighbouring Addis Ababa in Ethiopia, said students took to the streets demanding justice and better living conditions shortly before the shooting took place.

"The opposition called for nationwide protests to condemn the violence," Morgan said. "They say they blame the ruling military council for the death of the protesters."

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Morgan said the protesters and opposition have also demanded that the police protect them.

"They say the military council and the police should not be attacking protesters as they voice their anger and demand a civilian government," she said.

According to her, a transition agreement between the military and the civilian opposition has not yet been signed.

Sudan's state news agency SUNA said authorities in North Kordofan closed all schools across the state until further notice and described the events as "regrettable".

El-Obeid residents said a funeral would be held on Tuesday for those killed.

In Khartoum, a witness said dozens of protesters took to the streets in several neighbourhoods after hearing about the El-Obeid violence, Reuters News Agency reported.

Demonstrations in Khartoum against the killing of protesters in El Obeid, western #Sudan, where snipers shot at least 5 during demonstrations against power outages #SudanUprising #KeepEyesOnSudan #السودان #تسقط_بس https://t.co/xJghRB9Bz0 — Isma'il Kushkush (@ikushkush) July 29, 2019

'Independent investigations'

Opposition activists, unions and professional groups launched nationwide protests against mounting economic hardships and long-term leader al-Bashir in December last year.

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The military removed al-Bashir in April as the protests and shortages persisted. But activists kept up their demonstrations, pressing for the military to speed up the move to civilian rule and calling for justice for people killed during a raid on a sit-in protest in Khartoum in June.

The Forces of Freedom and Change coalition called for Monday's attackers in El-Obeid to be held accountable and for the ruling military council to immediately agree upon the details of a new transitional authority.

"Forces belonging to the army and Rapid Support (paramilitary force) indiscriminately and violently fired this afternoon at peaceful demonstrations of secondary school students in El-Obeid," the coalition said in a statement.

"Only a civilian authority is capable of carrying out independent investigations into all crimes," it added.

Monday's deaths also sparked calls for talks set for Tuesday to be suspended.

The talks were set to cover issues including the powers of the joint civilian-military ruling body, the deployment of security forces and immunity for generals over protest-related violence, according to protest leaders.

Khartoum has seen angry demonstrations since Saturday, when investigators announced the results of a probe into a deadly crackdown on a protest camp on June 3.

Shortly before dawn on that day, gunmen in military fatigues raided the site of a weeks-long sit-in outside the military headquarters in Khartoum, shooting and beating protesters.

Doctors linked to the protest movement said the raid left 127 people dead and scores wounded.

But a joint investigation by prosecutors and the ruling military council found that just 17 people were killed on June 3, with a total of 87 dying between that day and June 10.

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The probe identified eight officers involved in the violent crackdown on the protest camp, including three from the feared Rapid Support Forces paramilitary group.

But protest leaders have rejected the findings, saying the inquiry exonerated the military council and gave a far lower death toll than their own figures.

The investigation was "commissioned by the military council, this is challenging its integrity as the military council itself is accused in this case," said the SPA.

Demonstrators have called for an independent investigation into the raid as the ruling generals insist they did not order the dispersal of the sit-in.
Shots fired by "regular forces" near the site of a sit-in protest in Khartoum kill one person and wound 10 others, according to the Central Committee of Sudanese Doctors. The gunfire lasted about four hours. This week at least three protesters have been shot dead and eight others injured during protests calling for the generals who replaced deposed President Omar al-Bashir to hand power to a civilian-led administration.