Seven people were killed Sunday as tens of thousands of Sudanese protesters took to the streets to demand civilian rule in the first mass rally since a bloody crackdown on demonstrators -- a show of street power despite heavy troop deployments by the ruling generals.

A top Sudanese general Saturday warned he will not tolerate any vandalism at a planned mass protest, but insisted the ruling generals would hand power to a civilian administration.

Sudanese protest leaders were to hold talks later Saturday with an Ethiopian envoy who has been mediating with the ruling generals and drafted a compromise blueprint for a political transition.

Shops began to reopen in Sudan's capital on Wednesday after demonstrators called off a nationwide civil disobedience campaign and agreed to new talks, though many residents remained indoors following last week's deadly crackdown.

Shops and businesses remained shut and residents stayed indoors in the Sudanese capital Tuesday as a nationwide civil disobedience campaign aimed at pressuring the military rulers entered a third day.

A top US diplomat will head to Sudan this week to urge an end to a bloody crackdown on protesters, Washington said Monday, as a nationwide civil disobedience campaign challenged the African country's ruling military council.

Security forces have arrested two prominent rebels and an opposition leader, aides said Saturday, just days after a bloody crackdown stifled hopes for Sudan's swift democratic transition. 

The men were arrested after they held meetings on Friday with Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, who was in Khartoum on a mission to revive talks between Sudan's ruling generals and protest leaders on who should lead the country's next governing body -- a civilian or a soldier.

The UN Security Council's decision to renew an arms embargo on South Sudan was "anti-peace" and will weaken the government's fight against rebels, a senior minister told AFP on Friday.

Sudanese authorities on Thursday shut down news broadcaster Al Jazeera's Khartoum office, as thousands of protesters gathered outside the country's military headquarters to pressure the ruling generals to cede power.

In unprecedented scenes in Khartoum, hundreds of workers in suits and ties alongside their neatly dressed women colleagues have gone on strike to protest what they call Sudan's "total economic collapse".

The popular protests that have rocked the northeast African country for more than five months broke out over a decision to triple the price of bread before quickly turning political against the regime of Omar al-Bashir.