Sudan demonstrations: Police officer and protester killed in Khartoum as protests...

A police officer and a protester were killed during new protests in the streets of the Sudanese capital, Khartoum.

And the police announced that a brigadier general was killed while “protecting protests near the Republican Palace” in Khartoum.

The police press office said in a statement that Brigadier General Ali Brima Hammad was killed in the line of duty, without giving further details.

The vicinity of the presidential palace witnessed hit-and-run operations between the security forces and the protesters.

The Central Committee of Doctors reported the death of one person and the injury of others during clashes that took place after the demonstrations in Khartoum this afternoon.

According to the committee’s statement, a person named Al-Reeh Muhammad was killed after being shot in the abdomen while participating in the protests in Khartoum North.

The committee accused the security forces of killing him, which the authorities have not yet investigated.

Witnesses said Sudanese security forces fired tear gas at thousands of protesters who marched toward the palace.

The march, which set off from several parts of Khartoum, came amid lukewarm support for the United Nations’ attempt to facilitate talks between Sudanese factions.

Demonstrators took to the streets in Omdurman and Port Sudan, witnesses said.

Witnesses said that security forces fired tear gas canisters to disperse protesters in Khartoum and Omdurman.

Online footage showed protesters throwing stones and unexploded tear gas canisters at security forces near the presidential palace.

Pro-democracy activists have organized regular demonstrations since last October, when the military seized power.

Medics said the protests were met with a bloody crackdown that left at least 64 people dead and hundreds injured.

On Monday, UN Special Representative Volker Perthes said he had begun “consultations” with political and social actors as well as armed and civil society groups.

However, a protester named Awad Saleh, 62, said, “We do not accept this initiative at all,” according to what AFP reported.

“It is not clear what points it constitutes and therefore it is deficient for us,” he added.

The latest UN attempt received mixed reactions.

The Sudanese Professionals Association, a union that was instrumental in organizing the protests that led to the ouster of ousted President Omar al-Bashir, said it completely rejected the UN initiative.

The pro-democracy Alliance of Freedom and Change Forces said it would “discuss” the call internally before announcing its position.

But Wajdi Saleh, a spokesman for the coalition, said he rejects “any partnership” with the army.

The Sovereignty Council, headed by army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, welcomed the proposed talks, the same position as the United States, Britain, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Egypt.

On Wednesday, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi called for stability in Sudan, saying that “it will only be achieved by consensus among all forces.”

The UN efforts come after the resignation of Prime Minister Abdullah Hamdik, who warned that Sudan now stands at a “dangerous crossroads that threatens its survival.”