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The umbrella group that has led Sudan's protest movement has called for continued demonstrations after the army ousted longtime leader Omar al-Bashir.

The Alliance for Freedom and Change said in a on Thursday that the military takeover was a "coup carried out by the regime".

"The regime has carried out a military coup that reproduce the same faces and institutions that the our great people rose up against," the group led by of grass-roots organisers, opposition parties and rebel groups.

"We all reject what has been mentioned in coup statement issued by the regime. We call on our people to continue their sit-in in front of army headquarters and across all regions and in the streets," the statement added.

The move comes after the Sudanese defence minister announced the takeover earlier in the day.

General Awad Ibn Auf appeared on said on state TV, dressed in military fatigues, that Bashir had been arrested and that the army would take control of the country for the next two years.

He said a state of emergency had been imposed for the next three months and that the military has also suspended the constitution and dissolved parliament.

Four months of mass protests, initially over a hike in bread prices but quickly turned to demands for Bashir's ousting, have rocked the African country.

The protests gained new momentum last week after the resignation of longtime Algerian leader Abdelaziz Bouteflika.