Thousands of protesters joined in fresh anti-government marches across Sudan on Saturday, according to organisers.
The Sudanese Professionals Association spearheaded calls for an end to President Omar al-Bashir’s three-decade rule soon after protests began on 19 December over surging prices and a failing economy.
Footage posted online showed hundreds of protesters, mostly young people, marching toward the military’s headquarters in the capital city of Khartoum demanding the army’s support and chanting “one people, one military,” and “freedom”.
The large opposition Umma party said security forces arrested four of its leaders ahead of planned marches in the province of Sennar, around 360km (225 miles) east of Khartoum.
Authorities did not release any statements on the arrests, and a government spokesman did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Security forces have responded to the protest movement with a fierce crackdown, killing at least 60 people according to Physicians for Human Rights, a New York-based rights group.
The government has said that 31 people have been killed, but hasn’t updated its tally in weeks.
Saturday’s marches marked the 34th anniversary of the overthrow of former President Gaafar Nimeiry in a bloodless coup.
The military removed Nimeiry after a popular uprising. It quickly handed over power to an elected government. The dysfunctional administration lasted only a few years until al-Bashir – a career army officer – allied with Islamist hard-liners and toppled it in a coup in 1989.