Stephane Dujarric, a spokesman for the UN Secretary-General, expressed “grave concern about the continued use of excessive force and live ammunition by security forces in Sudan against demonstrators.”

Earlier, the Sudanese Doctors’ Committee reported that the death toll from Thursday’s demonstrations calling for civilian rule had risen to 5.

The committee said in a statement that this raises the total number of demonstration deaths that the committee counted since the October 25 (October of last year) “coup” to 108.

Dujarric said: “We have stated our position in the past and will continue to state it. We are deeply concerned and concerned about the continued use of excessive force and live ammunition by security forces against protesters in Sudan and it is imperative that people are allowed to express themselves freely and that security forces in any country should protect this right, not obstruct it, and that the only way forward for the Sudanese is an early political settlement leading to the restoration of the constitutional order and democratic reforms.