Thousands mourn protesters killed in Sudan raid

Sudanese protesters lit candles and released balloons in Khartoum as thousands rallied across the country to mourn dozens killed last month in a brutal raid on a protest camp.

Crowds of protesters were violently dispersed by men in military fatigues in a pre-dawn raid on a sit-in outside army headquarters on June 3.

Saturday's commemorative rallies came as mediators said talks between generals and protest leaders to discuss the finer details of a recently agreed power sharing accord had been postponed to Sunday, at the request of protest leaders.

They were previously scheduled for Saturday evening. The protest movement, the Alliance for Freedom and Change, had called for marches -- dubbed "Justice First" -- across the country on Saturday to mark 40 days since the raid.

Demonstrators who had camped outside military headquarters for weeks demanding civilian rule were shot and beaten, triggering international outrage.

Chanting "Blood for blood, we won't accept compensations," crowds of protesters marched in Khartoum's northern district of Bahari, a protest hotbed since demonstrations first erupted in December against the then regime of now ousted president Omar al-Bashir.

Many lit candles and some floated balloons while hundreds bathed the area in a sea of light -- holding their mobile phones aloft as torches, while chanting revolutionary slogans, an AFP correspondent reported.

Hundreds also gathered on nearby open ground, chanting "civilian rule, civilian rule."