Sudan military rulers use force to disperse sit-in

Sudan's ruling military council on Monday used force in a bid to break up a sit-in outside the Khartoum army headquarters, one of the main protest groups and witnesses said.

The military ousted president Omar al-Bashir in April after months of protests against his authoritarian rule, including a sit-in in front of army headquarters in the capital.

Thousands of protesters remained camped out in front of the site calling on the generals to cede power to a transitional authority.

"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.

A witness living in the Burri neighbourhood in east Khartoum said he could "hear the sound of gunfire and I see a plume of smoke rising from the area of the sit-in."