SUDANESE protesters were attacked by police with tear gas again in the capital Khartoum yesterday.

Yet there are indications that the country’s military may be striking a more conciliatory tone.

Demonstrations calling for the resignation of the country’s autocratic ruler President Omar al-Bashir came under attack as they chanted “freedom, peace, justice” in Khartoum and its twin city of Omdurman.

The movement has continued to grow since bread prices tripled in December.

It was then that a government subsidy was cut despite a harsh crackdown in which at least 40 people have been killed.

Mr Bashir has tried to rally support among loyalists and has offered concessions.

These have included increased public spending and better pensions.

However he is still refusing to stand down, insisting change must come through the ballot box.

Defence Minister Awad Ibnouf called for dialogue to resolve the crisis.

He told a group of army officers yesterday: “The recent incidents show that there is a division between the young generation and others within families.”

Pressure has been mounting on the Sudanese army to back the anti-government demonstrations and force Mr Bashir from power. 

Chief of Staff General Kamal Abdul Maarouf had previously insisted that the protests were damaging.

He had warned the army “will not allow the Sudanese state to collapse or fall into chaos.”

However late yesterday he told the same group of soldiers that the armed forces “believe in a peaceful exchange of power.

“The role of Sudanese armed forces … is to allow Sudanese people from all political movements to carry out their activities in a secure and stable country,” he said.

One member of Sudan’s National Intelligence and Security Service was killed and several others wounded in a clash between members of the service and army troops in Port Sudan at the end of January.

The incident appears to have been swept aside, however it could indicate underlying tensions.