Sudanese security forces opened fire in a bid to clear demonstrators from a weeks-long sit-in held outside the army headquarters as negotiations over the make-up of a sovereign council designed to steer the country towards democracy continue.
At least eight people were wounded on Wednesday by gunfire in the capital, Khartoum, a spokesman for the Alliance for Freedom and Change umbrella group wrote on Facebook.
A protest leader, speaking on condition of anonymity, told AFP news agency three were in serious condition.
A witness said troops from the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) fired shots into the air as they moved to clear protesters from the area, which has served as a focal point for demonstrators calling for Sudan’s ruling Transitional Military Council (TMC) to cede power to a civilian-led administration following the overthrow of longtime president Omar Al-Bashir last month.
Al Jazeera’s Hiba Morgan, reporting from Khartoum, said the violence broke out after RSF forces – whose head is the deputy of the military council – tried to “remove barricades” erected around the protest site but were met with resistance by demonstrators.
“There is lots of tension in front of the army headquarters,” she said, citing earlier violence at the site on Monday that led to at least four deaths.
Ongoing negotiations
The violence came after the TMC announced earlier on Wednesday said after two days of talks it had brokered a deal with the Declaration of Freedom and Change Forces (DFCF) umbrella group on the composition of a legislative council and a three-year transition period to a civilian administration.
Under the agreement the opposition alliance would have two-thirds of the seats on a legislative council, ruling military council member Lieutenant-General Yasser al-Atta told reporters at a press conference.
However, the two sides are yet to agree on the make-up of a sovereign council, the envisaged top tier of power during the planned transition period, with both wanting majority representation.
Final negotiations were to take place on Wednesday evening, according to the military council.
Satea al-Hajj, a Declaration of Freedom and Change Forces member, said: “The viewpoints are close and, God willing, we will reach an agreement soon.”
Violence in Khartoum
Amid the negotiations, protesters pushing for a civilian-led transition have remained in the streets, including outside the army headquarters, where the sit-in started on April 6.
Some roads in the centre of the capital have been blocked with stones, bricks, branches and slabs of concrete that security and paramilitary forces have occasionally tried to remove.
On Monday after security forces opened fire while trying to clear some protest sites, an outburst of violence left at least four people dead, including three protesters and a military police officer. They were the first deaths linked to the protests for several weeks.
Al Jazeera’s Morgan said the TMC denied responsibility for the violence.
“The military council came out and said the people who fired at protesters were not part of their forces or from the RSF,” she said, adding the TMC said it would launch an independent investigation into the incident.
The United States blamed Sudan’s military rulers for the deaths, however.
“The tragic attacks on protesters … were clearly the result of the Transitional Military Council trying to impose its will on the protesters by attempting to remove roadblocks,” the US Embassy in Khartoum said in a statement on Facebook.
“The decision for security forces to escalate the use of force, including the unnecessary use of tear gas, led directly to the unacceptable violence later in the day that the TMC was unable to control.”
Scores killed
Separately on Monday, Sudan’s prosecutor general announced al-Bashir was charged “with inciting and participating” in the killing of protesters during the mass protests that led to the end of his decades-long rule.
There has been no comment from al-Bashir since his removal and arrest on April 11. The former president is reportedly being held at the maximum security Kobar prison in Khartoum.
Demonstrations against the 75-year-old were sparked by a government decision in December to slash bread and fuel subsidies, but quickly escalated into wider calls for him to stand down.
Human Rights Watch, citing monitoring groups, said last month at least 70 protesters have been killed by government forces since the demonstrations began.
Last week, the Central Committee of Sudanese Doctors, a group linked to the protest movement, put the death toll at more than 90.
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