UPDATE 1-Thousands demonstrate in Sudan to mark 40 days since deadly crackdown

Thousands demonstrated in cities across Sudan on Saturday, witnesses said, to mark 40 days since security forces killed dozens when they stormed a protest camp in the capital Khartoum. The demonstrations were the first since the ruling military council and civilian opposition agreed in principle to a power-sharing arrangement ahead of elections. The deal has yet to be finalized and signed.

A meeting between the two sides planned for Saturday was postponed to Sunday, a leader of the Forces for Freedom and Change (FFC) coalition told Reuters. But the military council denied the meeting was being delayed. "Saturday's session will discuss the constitutional document as determined by the mediation," state news agency SUNA said, citing the council.

African Union mediator Mohamed Hassan Labatt had said on Thursday the council and FFC would meet on Saturday to study and ratify a constitutional declaration. They had agreed to a political declaration that determines the transition's different institutions, he said. In Khartoum on Saturday, thousands protested on Sitteen Street, a major thoroughfare in the capital, a Reuters witness said. Some lit candles to remember those killed at the protest camp on June 3, while others lit the torches on their mobile phones.

Several hundred also demonstrated in Khartoum's Burri neighborhood, a working-class district and the cradle of many of the protests. Troops from the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) stood on roads surrounding Burri, armed with sticks. "Blood for blood, even if (we get) civilian rule!" protesters chanted.

Security forces used barbed wire to block the main road leading to the Defence Ministry compound, the site of the protest camp crushed by security forces in June, a Reuters witness said. At least 128 people were killed during the raid and in the two weeks that followed, according to doctors linked to the opposition. The government confirmed at least 61 deaths.

Across the Blue Nile, hundreds protested in the neighborhoods of Shambat and al-Mazad in Khartoum North. In Khartoum's twin city of Omdurman, hundreds demonstrated on al-Arbaeen Street, a major artery. Thousands also turned out in Wad Madani, capital of Jazeera state, while others protested in Port Sudan, capital of Red Sea state, and Al-Ubayyid, capital of North Kordofan.

General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, deputy head of the Transitional Military Council and head of the RSF, which controls Khartoum and whose members are accused of violently dispersing the sit-in outside the Defence Ministry, defended the latter's role in maintaining security. "Rapid Support is not angels, but we prosecute every offender," Dagalo, known by his nickname Hemedti, said in a televised speech. "Were it not for Rapid Support, Khartoum's situation would have been different."

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)