UN relocates staff from Sudan

AFP  |  United Nations 

The is moving some of its staff from Sudan, a said Wednesday, as the death toll from a crackdown on protesters soared to more than 100.

No details were provided on the number of staffers leaving Khartoum, where there is a large UN presence of 27 entities, mostly UN aid agencies.

The also runs a peacekeeping mission in with the African Union, where about 7,200 troops and police are deployed.

has been engulfed in turmoil since security forces on Monday violently broke up a weeks-long sit-in by protesters demanding an end to military rule.

The for Sudanese Doctors close to the protest movement said on Wednesday that at least 101 people had been killed in the crackdown.

Forty bodies have been recovered from the Nile river, they said.

A military council has ruled the country since the ouster of on April 11, following months of protests against his three-decade authoritarian rule.

Army ruler announced Tuesday that he was scrapping a plan for a three-year transition period and would hold elections within nine months.

Western powers have warned that snap elections will crush hopes for a democratic transition in and have called for a return to negotiations.

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

First Published: Thu, June 06 2019. 02:05 IST