Rights groups accuse Sudan police of 'shooting to kill' during protests

Sudanese police have killed at least 50 people during protests in the last week, often "shooting to kill," two leading rights groups said late Thursday. 

A statement released by Amnesty International and the African Center for Justice and Peace Studies urged authorities to end violent repression of the protesters.

Lucy Freeman, Amnesty's deputy chief for Africa, said the police's "aiming at protesters' chests and heads" is a "blatant violation of the right to life."

The demonstrations, which began on Monday, were prompted when the government announced fuel subsidy cuts that caused prices to nearly double overnight. 

The cuts have been driven by a severe financial crunch since the secession of oil-producing South Sudan in 2011, which deprived Khartoum of three-quarters of the crude output it relied on for state revenues and dollars used to import food.

On Thursday, the streets of Khartoum appeared calm as people stayed away from work and schools remained closed. Long lines were forming at gas stations. Fear of shortages came a day after many gas stations were torched during violent protests.

The state-linked Sudanese Media Center said schools in Khartoum state would be shut until Sept. 30. Students have been at the forefront of previous rounds of anti-government protests.

Information from Sudan is starting to flow out Friday after a 24-hour Internet blackout. Of the newspapers that reached kiosks on Thursday, most carried statements from First Vice President Ali Osman Taha denouncing violence during the protests. 

Editors at three newspapers said they either had been prevented from publishing by security agents or had decided not to print to protest against state attempts to steer coverage.

Sudan's Information Minister Ahmed Bilal Osman told Al Jazeera that what was occurring was "not a demonstration" but rather "a sort of spreading chaos." 

"The demonstrations have turned out to be some kind of terroristic actions against the people more than the government, some sort of looting and burning gas stations and cars of the people and some areas that belong to the government and to the people as well," Osman said. 

Youth activists and doctors at a Khartoum hospital have told The Associated Press that at least 100 people have died since protests first broke out on Monday. 

The clashes are the worst unrest seen in Sudan's central regions in years.

Al Jazeera and wire services