Army in Sudan on Wednesday issued a statement   saying it would not allow the state to collapse, following weeks of mass protests demanding an end to President Omar al-Bashir’s 30-year rule.

Activists had been urging the military to back the protesters and pressurize the government to step down.

“The armed forces will not allow the Sudanese state to fall or to slide into the unknown,” said General Kamal Abdul Maarouf, chief of staff of the armed forces, in a statement.