Sudan coup: Civilians reject army's 'tactical retreat' and call for more protests

Sudan's main civilian bloc, the Forces for Freedom of Change, on Tuesday urged for more protests and rejected a proposal by the country's coup leader to make way for civilian rule.

Army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, whose coup last year ousted the FFC, had vowed on Monday to "make room" for civilian powers to form a new transition government.

But the FCC called for "continued public pressure" on the streets and labelled Burhan's move a "tactical retreat and a transparent manoeuvre".

Sudanese military authorities have met the near-weekly street protests since the coup with a crackdown that has so far killed 113 people, including 18 children.

Sudan has been plunged into turmoil since the October 25 military takeover upended its short-lived transition to democracy after three decades of repressive rule by former president Omar al-Bashir.

Al-Bashir and his Islamist-backed government were removed by the military in a popular uprising in April 2019.

Since the coup, the UN political mission in Sudan, the African Union and the eight-nation east African regional Intergovernmental Authority in Development group have been trying to broker a way out of the political impasse. But talks have yielded no results so far. Pro-democracy groups have repeatedly said they will not negotiate with the military, and have called for them to immediately hand the reins to a civilian government.