Sudan protesters urge night rallies amid standoff with army

Military forces secure the area outside while Sudan's ousted president Omar al-Bashir is questioned at the prosecutor's office over charges of corruption and illegal possession of foreign currency, in Khartoum the capital of Sudan Sunday June 16, 2019. The deposed strongman has been held under arrest in the capital since the military removed him from power in April amid mass public protests against his 30-year rule.(AP Photo/Mahmoud Hjaj)

A quote from the Sudanese opposition is seen on a wall Sunday, June 16, 2019, about the protesters who were killed by security forces on June 3, 2019, where demonstrators had been holding a sit-in, in Khartoum, Sudan. Sudanese officials say al-Bashir is being taken to the prosecutor's office for corruption probe. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

KHARTOUM, Sudan – Sudan's protest leaders are calling for nighttime demonstrations and marches in the capital, Khartoum, and elsewhere in the country, amid a tense standoff with the ruling military.

The protest leaders said on Monday they've begun a "revolutionary escalation" to pressure the country's generals to hand over power to civilians and to condemn the military's violent dispersal of their sit-in camp in Khartoum earlier this month.

At least 128 people have died in the military's crackdown since the June 3 dispersal.

The group representing the protesters — known as the Forces for the Declaration of Freedom and Change — says the night rallies will begin on Tuesday and marches on Thursday.

The military, which took over after ousting longtime autocrat Omar al-Bashir in April following mass protests, refuses to relinquish power.