The UAE has urged the Sudanese government to exercise restraint in dealing with protests after days of unrest in which dozens of people have died.
Sudanese police fired teargas on Saturday to break up thousands of protesters who were calling the president, Omar Al Bashir, a killer.
There were daily demonstrations last week after the government cut fuel and cooking gas subsidies on Monday following a doubling in pump prices overnight.
In a statement on the state news agency Wam, the UAE described the police violence as “unjustified”.
“The UAE also emphasises the need to ensure the preservation of the lives of civilians so as to preserve the stability of the state and the society of Sudan,” said the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Dr Anwar Gargash.
Four protesters were shot dead by unidentified gunmen on Friday, police said, bringing the official death toll to 33.
In Khartoum’s Burri district, home to a top government official, more than 1,000 people gathered for the funeral of one of the victims, Salah Mudahir Sanhuri, a doctor from a prominent merchant family with ties to the government.
Within half an hour the crowd grew to over 3,000 people, many of whom were shouting “Bashir, you are a killer” and “Freedom, freedom”.
Police fired teargas into the crowd several times.
More than 5,000 people demonstrated on Friday in Khartoum, the biggest turnout in central Sudan for many years. Its borderlands have grappled with insurgencies for decades but there has been little turmoil recently in the relatively wealthy heartland.
* Wam and Reuters