Sudan tensions escalate after talks with military break down

Tensions escalated Monday after talks broke down between Sudanese protesters and the country's military rulers amid indications the army could move in to break up the demonstration in the capital, Khartoum.

The protesters, who have been rallying outside the military headquarters in Khartoum, have demanded a swift handover of power to civilian rule after the military earlier this month ousted autocratic President Omar al-Bashir after four months of street protests against his 30-year rule.

A military council, which took over after al-Bashir's ouster and arrest, issued a statement Monday calling for an "immediate opening of the roads and removal of the barricades" around the sit-in in Khartoum.

It also asked that other roads, closed by similar protests across the country, be opened.

However, the Sudanese Professionals Association, which has led the months of protests against al-Bashir, vowed to carry on with their sit-in.

It also called for a march on Tuesday and mass protests on Thursday when the organisers plan to announce their own transitional council in a challenge to the military's.

Overnight, large crowds lit up the night sky with their cellphones, singing and chanting as protest leaders delivered fiery speeches outside the military complex in Khartoum.

Qurashi Diefallah, a protester, said they're disappointed because the army is "just an extension of the regime which stole 30 years from us."