African Union has announced it has suspended Sudan following a violent crackdown on protesters that left scores dead early this week.

"The AU Peace and Security Council has with immediate effect suspended the participation of the Republic of Sudan in all AU activities until the effective establishment of a Civilian-led Transitional Authority, as the only way to allow the Sudan to exit from the current crisis,” the Council tweeted on Thursday.

The decision was reached during an emergency meeting at AU Headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

More than 100 people are said to have been killed and at least 500 others wounded, according to Sudanese doctors linked to the protest.

However, reports quoted a health ministry official saying that the death toll stood at 61.

African Union chairperson Moussa Faki Mahamat on Monday called for an "immediate and transparent investigation in order to hold all those responsible accountable" shortly after the protest was violently dispersed.

Opposition said some 40 bodies had been pulled from the Nile River this week.

The latest standoff has seen the Transitional Military Council – which ousted long-serving leader Omar al-Bashir amid protests – and representatives of the protestors abandon talks.

The protestors insist that the current government is an extension of al-Bashir’s rule and want the military leaders to hand over power to a civilian authority.