Security forces in Sudan carry out raids across capital, killing at least 30

A protester flashes the victory sign in front of burning tyres and debris near Khartoum's army headquarters, in Sudan.

A long-feared confrontation between security forces and protesters occupying part of Sudan's capital, Khartoum, took place throughout the day.

Heavy gunfire was heard around the city and a doctors' group affiliated with the protest said at least 30 were killed.

A broad swath of Sudanese society has staged a sit-in in Khartoum since April 6, just days before the military toppled President Omar Hassan al-Bashir, who had led the country for 30 years.

Tens of thousands of protesters remained in place since his ouster to demand civilian control over the transitional period in this North African country of 40 million.

The so-called Transitional Military Council or TMC has pushed back on those demands, insisting on retaining ultimate authority during an interim period that they say will eventually lead to a civilian-led government.

The crackdown, carried out by state paramilitary troops, appeared to have at least dispersed the sit-in if not cleared it entirely, burning many of its tents and stages in the process. The protesters have been peaceful since occupying the roads outside of the headquarters of Sudan's military two months ago.

Reports from witnesses and live television feeds showed scenes of bloodshed, and the doctors' group said hospitals had taken in hundreds of wounded people.

"The protesters holding a sit-in in front of the army general command are facing a massacre in a treacherous attempt to disperse the protest," the main group organising the protests said. "We call for sweeping civil disobedience to topple the treacherous and killer military council and finalise our revolution."

The TMC, which is led by Lieutenant-General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, has spent the past weeks visiting the leaders of Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, who have made major financial contributions to shore up Sudan's economy during the transition.

Shams al-Deen al-Kabashi, spokesman for the council, acknowledged the operation in televised remarks but said the military was targeting just one area of the protests, nicknamed "Colombia" by protesters because of prolific drug use that happens there.

Kabashi claimed that clashes at the main sit-in site were a result of protesters from "Colombia" seeking refuge there.

Activists in Sudan say at least 27 people have been killed after security forces launched an assault on a camp at the centre of the country's protest movement in Khartoum, as @YousraElbagir reports:https://t.co/JKSJrCIboS

— Channel 4 News (@Channel4News) June 3, 2019

The "Colombia" area is under a bridge spanning the Nile right near the sit-in. Videos posted on social media showed paramilitary troops firing on protesters in numerous spots around Khartoum, from the area around the sit-in to neighbourhoods across the Nile.

Burhan and his deputy, General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, commonly referred to by the name Hemedti, were instrumental during Bashir's years in recruiting young Sudanese fighters to reinforce a Saudi and UAE-driven military offensive in Yemen.

Hemedti commands a state security arm called the Rapid Support Forces or RSF that is infamous for its role in an alleged genocide in Sudan's Darfur region over a decade ago. The RSF was widely reported to be the one carrying out the crackdown in Khartoum.

Western governments were quick to condemn the violence, though they offered little in the way of concrete pushback.

"Responsibility falls on the TMC," the US Embassy in Khartoum wrote on Twitter. "The TMC cannot responsibly lead the people of Sudan."

"No excuse for any such attack," wrote Irfan Siddiq, Britain's ambassador. "This. Must. Stop. Now."