A Sudanese official has denied that at least 100 people were killed by a paramilitary unit during protests, saying that the number was at most 46.

Doctors linked to the opposition on Wednesday said at least 100 people had been killed in the capital, Khartoum, amid pro-democracy protests.

They said 40 bodies were pulled from the River Nile in Khartoum on Tuesday.

Authorities had initially stayed quiet, but a health ministry official put the number at 46 early on Thursday.

Sudanese opposition activists have rejected an offer of talks from the country's military council, saying it cannot be trusted amid a violent crackdown on protesters.

Residents told the BBC they were living in fear in the capital.

The deputy head of the military council defended the violent suppression, claiming that the protesters had been infiltrated by rogue elements and drug dealers.

"We will not allow chaos and we will not go back on our convictions. There is no way back. We must impose the respect of the country by law," said Mohammed Hamadan - also known as Hemedti - on Wednesday.

Numerous reports from Khartoum said the paramilitary unit, the feared Rapid Support Forces (RSF), was roaming the city's nearly deserted streets, targeting civilians.

Formerly known as the Janjaweed militia, the RSF gained notoriety for brutal atrocities in the Darfur conflict in western Sudan in 2003. </s> A Sudanese official has denied that at least 100 people were killed by a paramilitary unit during protests, saying that the number was at most 46.

Doctors linked to the opposition on Wednesday said at least 100 people had been killed in the capital, Khartoum, amid pro-democracy protests.

They said 40 bodies were pulled from the River Nile in Khartoum on Tuesday.

Authorities had initially stayed quiet, but a health ministry official put the number at 46 early on Thursday.

Sudanese opposition activists have rejected an offer of talks from the country’s military council, saying it cannot be trusted amid a violent crackdown on protesters.

Residents told the BBC they were living in fear in the capital.

The deputy head of the military council defended the violent suppression, claiming that the protesters had been infiltrated by rogue elements and drug dealers.

“We will not allow chaos and we will not go back on our convictions. There is no way back. We must impose the respect of the country by law,” said Mohammed Hamadan – also known as Hemeti – on Wednesday.

Numerous reports from Khartoum said the paramilitary unit, the feared Rapid Support Forces (RSF), was roaming the city’s nearly deserted streets, targeting civilians.

Formerly known as the Janjaweed militia, the RSF gained notoriety for brutal atrocities in the Darfur conflict in western Sudan in 2003.

Reports continue to come in of these militia going into neighbourhoods and killing people. Their leader claims it is impostors behind the violence. </s> Sudanese activists: 7 more killed in clashes with police

CAIRO (AP) — Activists behind anti-government demonstrations in Sudan say security forces have killed at least seven people, including a military officer, in another attempt to break up a sit-in outside the military headquarters in the capital.

Sarah Abdel-Jaleel, spokeswoman for the Sudanese Professionals Association, says clashes erupted early on Tuesday between security forces and protesters who have been camping out in front of the complex in Khartoum since the weekend.

The new deaths brought the total number of people killed by the security forces since Saturday to 15.

Abdel-Jaleel says at least 30 protesters were wounded in the violence. A government spokesman didn't respond to calls seeking comment.

The demonstrations began in December over an economic crisis but quickly escalated into calls for an end to President Omar al-Bashir's 30-year rule. </s> Image copyright Reuters Image caption A Sudanese protester stands on a barricade in Khartoum on Wednesday

A Sudanese official has denied that at least 100 people were killed by a paramilitary unit during protests, saying that the number was at most 46.

Doctors linked to the opposition on Wednesday said at least 100 people had been killed in the capital, Khartoum, amid pro-democracy protests.

They said 40 bodies were pulled from the River Nile in Khartoum on Tuesday.

Authorities had initially stayed quiet, but a health ministry official put the number at 46 early on Thursday.

Sudanese opposition activists have rejected an offer of talks from the country's military council, saying it cannot be trusted amid a violent crackdown on protesters.

Residents told the BBC they were living in fear in the capital.

The deputy head of the military council defended the violent suppression, claiming that the protesters had been infiltrated by rogue elements and drug dealers.

"We will not allow chaos and we will not go back on our convictions. There is no way back. We must impose the respect of the country by law," said Mohammed Hamadan - also known as Hemeti - on Wednesday.

Numerous reports from Khartoum said the paramilitary unit, the feared Rapid Support Forces (RSF), was roaming the city's nearly deserted streets, targeting civilians.

Image copyright AFP Image caption Security forces, seen here on Monday, moved against protesters after a long stand-off

Formerly known as the Janjaweed militia, the RSF gained notoriety for brutal atrocities in the Darfur conflict in western Sudan in 2003.

Reports continue to come in of these militia going into neighbourhoods and killing people. Their leader claims it is impostors behind the violence.

Doctors afraid of going to work

By Catherine Byaruhanga, BBC News, Khartoum

People are still coming to terms with the violence of the last few days.

At the former sit-in area - there are torn and charred posters as well as burnt-out tents.

The fear is that more of the dead could still be there.

Security forces seem to outnumber civilians on the streets of the capital.

Reports continue to come in of their brutal crackdown.

At Ibrahim Maleek Teaching Hospital - the doctors and nurses have not come to work because they're afraid of being targeted. Instead, it's the medical students who are treating patients.

Like 33-year-old Mohanned Mirghani - he says he was shot at close range by the Rapid Support Forces. "They shot me from close range; the RSF were the distance that you are from me now. Two of my friends were also shot but I don't know what happened to them."

It's hard to get a proper sense of what's happened. One big hindrance is the fact that the military rulers have cut off the internet.

What was the lead-up to the latest violence?

Sudan has been controlled by a military council since pro-democracy protests led to the ousting of veteran President Omar al-Bashir in April, after 30 years of authoritarian rule.

Demonstrators had been occupying the square in front of the military headquarters, while their representatives had negotiated with the military council and agreed a three-year transition that would culminate in elections.

But on Monday, security forces swept in and opened fire on unarmed protesters in the square. General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the head of the military council, announced that the agreement was cancelled and an election would take place within nine months.

Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Sudan military attacks protesters

On Wednesday, however, after Saudi Arabia publicly called for a resumption of talks, Gen Burhan reversed course and said the military council would "open our arms to negotiate with no restriction".

The offer was rejected by the opposition. "The Sudanese people are not open for talks," said Amjad Farid, a spokesman for the Sudanese Professionals Association (SPA) which spearheaded the protests against Mr Bashir.

"The Sudanese people are not open to this TMC (Transitional Military Council) that kills people and we need justice and accountability before talks about any political process," Mr Farid told the AFP news agency.

What have residents been saying?

The Central Committee of Sudanese Doctors - one of the groups behind the protests - said on Wednesday that 40 bodies had been recovered from the River Nile.

An official from the group told the BBC that they had witnessed and verified the bodies in hospitals and that the death toll now stood at at least 100.

A former security officer quoted by Yousra Elbagir, a journalist with the UK's Channel 4, said that some of those thrown into the Nile had been beaten or shot to death and others hacked to death with machetes.

"It was a massacre," the unnamed source said.

Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Many Khartoum streets are deserted

Much of Khartoum has been under lockdown in the wake of the killings. Witnesses told the BBC that protesters had retreated to residential areas, where they were building barricades and burning tyres.

"We have reached the point where we can't even step out of our homes because we are scared to be beaten or to be shot by the security forces," one Khartoum resident said, asking not to be named.

Another resident told the BBC he had been pulled from his car by members of the RSF and beaten on his head and back.

A pharmacist who spoke to the BBC from Khartoum said RSF troops were shutting down hospitals to prevent civilians receiving treatment.

"They kicked us out from two hospitals that were giving aid to the injured and the victims of the gunshots," he said. "It's an order from the military council to shut down those hospitals because we were giving aid for the citizens."

A woman, identified only as Sulaima, told the BBC that troops from the Rapid Support Forces were "all over Khartoum".

"They're surrounding neighbourhoods, they're threatening people. They're also using live ammunition. They're everywhere. We're not feeling safe and we don't have trust in the security forces. It's complete chaos."

Large numbers of heavily armed troops were also reported on the streets of Omdurman, Sudan's second-largest city, just across the River Nile from Khartoum.

Are you in the area? If it is safe to do so, please share your experiences by emailing haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk.

Please include a contact number if you are willing to speak to a BBC journalist. You can also contact us in the following ways: </s> Sudan's government says police have arrested 816 people in nearly three weeks of protests against the 29-year rule of President Omar al-Bashir.

Human Rights Watch said on Tuesday that at least 40 people have been killed in the protests, which began Dec. 19, initially over price rises and shortages but soon shifted to calls for al-Bashir to step down.

Interior Minister Ahmed Bilal Othman, who gave the figure on the number of people detained, told parliament Monday that 19 people were killed in the protests, including two members of the security forces. Al-Bashir has ordered an investigation into the killings.

Authorities also have arrested scores of opposition leaders. 

 

 Human Rights Watch says security forces have been using live ammunition and excessive force against the protesters as well as arbitrary detentions. </s> Death toll from clashes at Sudan rallies climbs to 10

KHARTOUM, Sudan (AP) — A leading Sudanese activist says at least 10 people were killed in clashes with security forces during mass demonstrations demanding a transition to civilian rule.

Nazim Sirraj told The Associated Press on Monday that three bodies were found next to a school in Omdurman, the twin city of the capital, Khartoum, after the rallies the day before. He says the three were shot dead.

Authorities said late Sunday that at least seven people were killed and nearly 200 wounded during the demonstrations. The ruling military council blamed protest leaders for the deaths after they diverted the routes of their marches.

The protesters are calling on the military to hand over power to civilians following the coup that ousted longtime autocrat Omar al-Bashir in April. </s> (AP) — Organizers of the pro-democracy protests in Sudan say the death toll across the country since the violent dispersal of their sit-in in Khartoum earlier this week has increased to 60.

The Sudan Doctors’ Committee says security forces killed at least 10 people on Wednesday in the capital, Khartoum, and its twin city of Omdurman.

That came after another 10 people were killed on Tuesday, including five in the White Nile state, three in Omdurman and two in Khartoum’s Bahri neighborhood.

The doctors’ committee is the medical arm of the Sudanese Professionals Association, which has been spearheading protests against army rule.

On Monday, security forces broke up the protest camp outside military headquarters in Khartoum, posing a new challenge to the protest movement. </s> he Sudanese government has said 11 people were killed on Tuesday in the capital Khartoum, including six members of the state security forces.

They died when the National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS) tried to disperse thousands of demonstrators who were calling on President Omar al-Bashir to step down.

Some soldiers helped protect the protesters and even shot back in the direction of the security personnel. The anti-government demonstrations began in December but intensified on Saturday.

Since then thousands of protesters have been holding a sit-in outside the military headquarters. -BBC Africa </s> (Bloomberg) -- The death toll from a week of demonstrations against rising inflation and food shortages in Sudan rose to more than 37 people, Sudanese doctors said.

“The number is higher than 37 as new protesters have been killed,” the Central Committee of Sudanese Doctors said in a statement.

Amnesty International said Dec. 24 it had credible reports that 37 protesters had been shot dead by security forces in the first five days of anti-government demonstrations that have rocked the north African nation. Police used live bullets and tear gas Tuesday to break up a rally in Sudan’s capital, Khartoum, demanding that President Umar al-Bashir step down after almost 30 years in power.

The doctors group said it was tallying the number of people killed in the protests. Last week, the government said at least eight people had been killed and hasn’t made any further comment on the death toll.

To contact the reporter on this story: Mohammed Alamin in Nairobi at malamin1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Paul Richardson at pmrichardson@bloomberg.net, Eric Ombok, Shaji Mathew
A Sudanese official denies that 100 people were killed by a paramilitary unit during protests, saying that the number was at most 46.