Anti-government protests that have rocked Sudan since 19 December have left 29 people dead, an official said on Thursday.

 Demonstrations that erupted last month after the government tripled the price of bread have escalated into nationwide anti-government protests, with calls for President Omar al-Bashir to step down.

 "The total number of people who have died from December 19 until now is 29," Amer Mohamed Ibrahim, head of the government fact-finding committee told reporters in Khartoum.

 Authorities had earlier announced that at least 24 people, including two security personnel, had been killed in the violent protests.

 Ibrahim said that one protester had passed away in the capital’s twin city of Omdurman during Thursday’s protests, taking the overall death toll to 29.

 He pointed out that all death cases were being investigated by the prosecutor's office.

 Rights groups say the death toll is twice as high.

 More protests

 Security forces have clashed with anti-government protesters in the capital, as thousands of protesters tried to march on the presidential palace on Thursday.

 The Sudanese Professionals Association, an umbrella coalition for professional unions, says there have been protests in many places in the country.

 The group further said at least two people died and several others injured.

 Crowds of protesters chanted "Freedom, Justice, the people want the downfall of the regime" in several neighborhoods in Khartoum, but were confronted by security forces, witnesses told Radio Tamazuj.

 Bashir, who came to power in a military coup backed by Islamists in 1989, has remained defiant amid fears of unrest in the country.