Sudan's military rulers condemn attack on Islamist party

A protester waves a Sudanese national flag during a sit-in at Armed Forces Square in Khartoum, Sudan, Saturday, April 27, 2019. The Umma party of former Prime Minister Sadiq al-Mahdi, a leading opposition figure, said the protesters will not leave until there is a full transfer of power to civilians. (AP Photos/Salih Basheer)

KHARTOUM, Sudan – Sudan's ruling military council has condemned an attack by protesters on a meeting of an Islamist party close to deposed President Omar al-Bashir.

In a statement issued late Saturday, the military council called on people to refrain from violence.

Dozens of protesters gathered Saturday outside a building where the Popular Congress Party was holding a meeting, chanting: "No place for Islamists."

The state-run SUNA news agency quoted party leader Idriss Suliman as saying that at least 64 party members were wounded in clashes with the protesters.

The party was established in the late 1990s by Hassan al-Turabi, the Sudanese Islamist who played a key role in the 1989 coup that brought al-Bashir to power.

Al-Bashir was forced from office earlier this month after four months of mass protests.