12 killed as security forces storm Sudan sit-in

Khartoum, June 3 (IANS) At least 12 Sudanese protesters were reportedly killed and dozens injured on Monday after security forces attempted to disperse a sit-in outside the military headquarters in the African nation's capital Khartoum.

Mohamed Babakr of the Central Committee of Sudanese Doctors (CCSD) told Efe news that eight people of the many injured were in critical condition. 

The Sudanese Professionals' Association (SPA), one of the protest organisers, said that the forces were using live ammunition and extensive force to disperse peaceful demonstrators.

Protesters have been staging the sit-in since early April demanding a transition to civilian rule following the ouster of President Omar al-Bashir, who had been in power for some 30 years.

The doctors' committee urged the Red Crescent and Doctors Without Borders to help in evacuating the injured and the medical personnel trapped in the protest camp.

Al-Bashir, who took power after he led a coup in the oil-rich country in 1989, was deposed and arrested in a military coup in April that came after months of anti-government demonstrations.

However, protesters continued their sit-in saying the new military rulers were a continuation of al-Bashir's former regime.