“Shooting to kill including by aiming at protesters’ chests and heads is a blatant violation of the right to life,” said Lucy Freeman, Africa deputy director at Amnesty.
The European Union said it was “concerned” about the reported deaths and called on all sides to avoid further violence.
“We particularly ask the Government of Sudan to respect the Sudanese people’s right to freedom of expression, freedom of the media and freedom of assembly,” a statement said.
Reports from Khartoum on Thursday said at least 29 people were killed after rioting erupted on Monday. Police confirmed the 29 fatalities without giving details, but medics and other sources said most had been shot dead.
‘People want the fall of the regime’
The initial protests were staged on Monday in Wad Madani in Gezira state south of Khartoum, the scene of the first death, and later spread to Nyala, the capital of South Darfur state, and Khartoum itself.
“The people want the fall of the regime,” protesters, many of them students, have chanted in Khartoum, echoing the refrain of Arab Spring protests that toppled several governments in 2011.
Young activists called on demonstrators to keep up “the revolution and their protests” until the fall of the regime, urging the security forces to side with the people.
Petrol and diesel prices at the pump shot up on Monday after fuel subsidies were scrapped in an effort to reform the economy in Sudan, where inflation was already running at 40 percent.
Khartoum lost billions of dollars in oil receipts when South Sudan gained independence two years ago, taking with it about 75 percent of the formerly united country’s crude production.
As the protests swept the country, the foreign ministry denied Bashir has cancelled a trip to address the UN General Assembly, originally planned for Thursday.
The International Criminal Court has called on Washington to arrest Bashir, who is wanted by The Hague for alleged war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide in Sudan’s Darfur conflict.
