Sudanese security forces have attacked a pro-democracy protest outside the military headquarters in the capital, Khartoum, activists say.
Medical sources say at
least eight people have been killed, with reports of live ammunition being
used.
Sudan
has been governed by a Transitional Military Council (TMC) since President Omar
al-Bashir was overthrown in a coup in April.
The
council later denied using force to break up the main protest site.
"Sudanese
forces did not disperse the sit-in outside the army headquarters by force, but
rather targeted a nearby area which has become a threat to the safety of
citizens," TMC spokesman Lt Gen Shams al-Din Kabbashi told UAE-based Sky
News Arabia TV channel.
Protesters
have been demanding that a civilian government take over the running of the
country.
The security services
moved on the main protest site early on Monday, activists say.
Khartoum
residents reported hearing heavy gunfire and seeing smoke rising from the area
around the army headquarters.
A
source inside one of the main hospitals in Khartoum told the BBC they had
received at least eight bodies and many others injured.
The
Central Committee of Sudanese Doctors put the death toll at nine.
"Now an attempt
is taking place to disperse the sit-in," said a short statement from the
Sudanese Professionals Association, the group which is spearheading nationwide
protests.
The
association also called for a campaign of "sweeping civil disobedience to
topple the treacherous and killer military council and finalise our
revolution".
Journalist
Benjamin Strick, who specializes in verifying footage on Twitter, has shared
dramatic videos from Khartoum, where repeated gunfire could be heard
The TMC denied using
force against the sit-in.
Lt
Gen Shams al-Din Kabbashi said the security forces had moved towards Colombia,
a neighborhood located near the main protest site, which he said "has long
been a hotbed of corruption and negative practices that contradict the conduct
of the Sudanese people".
"The
area has become a major security threat to our citizens and it also affects the
safety of protesters in the sit-in area."
"We
did not disperse the sit-in by force. The tents are still there and the youth
are moving there freely," the TMC spokesman added, stating that many
protesters "preferred to leave the sit-in".
Meanwhile,
the US embassy in Sudan said attacks by Sudanese security forces against
protesters were "wrong and must stop".
The demonstrators have been occupying the square in front of
the military headquarters since 6 April, five days before Mr Bashir was
overthrown.
Last month, organisers
and the ruling generals announced they had agreed on the structure of a new
administration and a three-year transition period to civilian rule.
But
they still need to decide on the make-up of what has been called the sovereign
council, which will be the highest decision-making body in the transition
period.
Source: BBC