UK, Germany Request UNSC Meeting on Sudan - Report

London and Berlin requested Monday that the UN Security Council discuss the crisis in Sudan after security forces violently broke up a sit-in outside the country's army headquarters, AFP reported.

 

A closed-door meeting is expected to be held on Tuesday, according to AFP.

Local media reported earlier in the day that the forces of the Transitional Military Council (TMC) had started a crackdown on a sit-in protest in the capital of Khartoum, by firing at the demonstrators. According to the opposition Central Committee of Sudan Doctors, over 30 protesters were killed, with hundreds of injured.

READ MORE: Military Police Open Fire on Protesters in Sudan's Capital — Correspondent

Sudan has been under military rule since the longtime president, Omar Bashir, was deposed following months of protests, in April. The opposition called a strike after the military council refused to hand power over to a civilian governing body.

Earlier on Monday, the opposition had ceased negotiations with the TMC and started a civil disobedience action, accusing the junta of dispersing peaceful demonstrators. The opposition also called on the Sudanese people to take to the streets to urge the military to give up power.

The TMC, in turn, said that the security forces' operation was not aimed at the peaceful protesters but was instead targeting criminals in a local problem district, and expressed hope that negotiations with the opposition would continue.

READ MORE: Police Officers Beat Sputnik Correspondent in Sudan, Break His Equipment