Sudan protesters keep up campaign for civilian rule

Thousands of Sudanese protesters performed the weekly Muslim prayers outside army headquarters on Friday, a day after vast crowd of demonstrators flooded Khartoum to demand the military rulers cede power.

Protesters have massed outside the army complex in central Khartoum since April 6, initially to demand the overthrow of longtime leader Omar al-Bashir.

But since his ouster by the army on April 11, the protesters have kept up their sit-in, demanding that the military council that took over hand power to a civilian administration.

Despite international support for the protesters, the 10-member council has so far resisted, although three of its members resigned on Wednesday under pressure from the street.

The resignations triggered jubilation among the protesters, who massed in their tens of thousands on Thursday in response to a call from their leaders for a "million-strong" march.

Despite the scorching heat, the protesters were back in numbers on Friday, an AFP correspondent reported.

"Freedom, freedom," they chanted as prayer leader Sheikh Matter Younis delivered the sermon.

"We will not retreat until we get our main demand of civilian rule," said Younis, an activist from Sudan's war-torn western region of Darfur.

He also called for the "symbols" of the old regime to be punished.

"They must face fair and transparent justice, they have to be held accountable," he said, as the protesters chanted "Blood for blood! We will not accept compensation!".

- 'We are all Darfur' -
Another Darfuri, Harun Adam, said his family lived in Kalma, one of the sprawling camps that are still home to hundreds of thousands of people who were driven from their homes by the Bashir government's brutal response to the ethnic minority rebellion which erupted in 2003.

"I'm here since April 6," when the sit-in started, Adam told AFP.

"I'm ready to stay here for a year until we get our main demand, which is a civilian government and that all those who committed crimes be held accountable."

Behind him crowds chanted "One, two, three, four, we are all Darfur!"

The military council, led by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, says it has assumed power for a two-year transitional period.

Protest leaders have held several rounds of talks with the council and the two sides have agreed to set up a joint committee to chart the way forward but there has so far been no breakthrough.

Washington has thrown its weight behind the protesters.

State Department official Makila James said on Tuesday that Washington supports "the legitimate demand of the people of Sudan for a civilian-led government" and urged all parties to work together to that end.

But at a summit hosted by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on Tuesday, African leaders conceded that more time was needed for a transition to civilian rule.

Their statement angered the protesters who held a rally outside the Egyptian embassy on Thursday.

The African Union had taken a strong line setting an end of April deadline for the military council to hand power to civilians or face suspension from the 55-nation bloc.