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The Sudanese protest movement on Tuesday called for new rallies and rejected the military leaders' electoral plan after the death of more than 35 people in what the protesters called a "bloody mbadacre" by the security forces.
The protest leaders have called on their supporters to take part in "total civil disobedience" in order to overthrow the ruling military council as a result of Monday's deadly dispersal of a sit-in one week ahead of the headquarters of the army in Khartoum.
The Transitional Military Council deposed veteran President Omar al-Bashir in April, after months of demonstrations against his authoritarian regime, and agreed to a three-year transition period to a civilian administration.
But the army chief, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, announced in a televised statement that the plan had been dropped and that an election would be held under "regional and international supervision".
"The military council decides the following: cancel what has been agreed, stop negotiations with the Alliance for Freedom and Change and convene general elections in no more than nine months," Burhan said.
The Sudanese Professionals Association (ASP), which organized protests against Bashir, dismissed the appeal.
"It is not the putschist council, nor its militia, nor its leaders who decide the fate of the people, nor how it will turn into a civilian government," he said.
Eid's prayers for 'martyrs & # 39;
The SPA said Monday's action against the sit-in constituted a "bloody mbadacre".
The Transitional Military Council declared in a statement that it "regretted" the events, calling it a "clean-up operation" that went wrong.
Tensions remained strong throughout Khartoum, with heavily armed members of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, who reportedly largely contributed to the crackdown, deployed in large numbers.
Despite the presence of security and internet outages, the residents of some parts of the capital have always traveled to mark the festival of Eid al-Fitr a day in advance and for protest.
The SPA urged the population to hold prayers for Eid to mark the end of the holy month of Ramadan on Tuesday in order to "pray for the martyrs" and then "protest peacefully".
In Omdurman, just across the Nile from Khartoum, a witness said by telephone that the rapid support forces were trying to disperse the demonstrators who had erected barricades by "shooting live ammunition".
"We gathered in our place like every year, but the rapid support forces and the police fired tear gas and sound bombs, and after the prayer, the youths closed the main street by erecting barricades." told AFP an inhabitant of the Bahri region.
The other streets around the city center were almost deserted Tuesday, with many markets and shops closed and almost no cars on the roads a covered morning.
Flights to Khartoum were disrupted as airlines monitored the situation on the ground.
"Brutal" repression
The US has described it as "brutal" crackdown on protesters, who want the generals behind the overthrow of Bashir to be handed over to a civilian regime.
The UN chief, Antonio Guterres, condemned the excessive use of force and called for an independent investigation.
The UN Security Council will meet in camera on Tuesday to discuss Sudan, after Britain and Germany have called for talks, diplomats said.
The Central Sudanese Medical Committee, which is close to the protesters, said the death toll was over 35, including an eight-year-old child with "hundreds" of wounded.
The protest leaders said the large square in front of army headquarters, where protesters had camped day and night since April 6, had been cleaned up.
Images posted online showed protesters fleeing the sit-in site early Monday morning, shouting and carrying wounded on improvised stretchers while the crackling of gunshots was heard in the background.
Outside the headquarters of the army "there is no one, except for the pure bodies of our martyrs that it was not possible to evacuate of the site, "said the protest group" Alliance for Freedom and Change ".
The rallies against Bashir's authoritarian regime that lasted three decades resulted in his ouster in April, but protesters had remained outside army headquarters, calling on the generals to cede power to a transitional authority .
Arab support to the army
African and Western governments strongly supported protesters, but Arab governments, led by Saudi Arabia, supported military leaders.
Tibor Nagy, US Assistant Secretary of State for Africa, said it was "a brutal and coordinated attack, led by the Rapid Support Forces militia" , which reflects some of the worst crimes of the Bashir regime. "
Moussa Faki, chairman of the African Union Commission, called for "an immediate and transparent investigation to hold all those responsible accountable".
But Arab governments have called for resumption of talks between protesters and the military. Before the crackdown when the talks failed, Burhan went to Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.
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