Doctor and child killed in Sudan protests as police break up march

A doctor and a child were killed Thursday during protests in Sudan's capital, organisers of the anti-government demonstrations said, as police dispersed a crowd of hundreds marching towards the presidential palace.

At least 26 people have died in protests that have rocked Sudan since they first erupted on December 19 after a government decision to raise the price of bread.

The rallies have since escalated into broader demonstrations against President Omar al-Bashir's three decades of iron-fisted rule and triggered deadly clashes with the security forces.

Human rights groups have given a higher death toll, with Amnesty International saying that more than 40 people had been killed and over 1,000 arrested.

"One doctor and a child (have been) killed in today's demonstrations," the doctors' committee, part of a protest movement spearheaded by the