Doctor and child shot dead during protests in Sudan

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

Nine other demonstrators were reportedly wounded in the clashes as protesters staged a sit-in at a hospital in the capital Khartoum.

It marks the fifth week of anti-government protests.

"Since the beginning, the security forces have responded with excessive use of power and with live ammunition," Dr Amjed Farid said.

The doctor who died had "over fourteen live bullets in his body", he added.

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.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet on Thursday condemned Sudan's "repressive response" to the anti-government demonstrations.

The UN Security Council too called on Sudan to respect the rights of protesters and investigate the violence.

Sudan's ambassador Omer Dahab Fadl Mohamed told the council that his government was "fully committed to giving citizens space to peacefully express their views".

But he said the authorities would act to "protect lives and public property against sabotage and arson and all other forms of violence perpetrated by some demonstrators".

More than 1,000 people including protesters, journalists, opposition leaders, and activists have been arrested in a sweeping crackdown by security agents since the protests erupted.

Despite the tough response, the protest movement has grown to become the biggest threat to Bashir's rule since he took power in an Islamist-backed military coup in 1989.

The protesters accuse Bashir's government of mismanagement of key sectors of the economy and of pouring funds into a military response Sudan can ill afford to rebellions in the western region of Darfur and in areas near the border with South Sudan.