CAIRO (AP) — Thousands of protesters poured out onto the streets of Sudan's eastern province of Kassala to denounce the killing of a protester arrested last week during demonstrations calling for the fall of autocratic President Omar al-Bashir.

The protester, Ahmed Khair, 33, died in police custody. A relative of Khair's said on Saturday that authorities refused to provide a cause of death, but that his body, including his groin area, was covered in bruises.

The relative, fearing reprisals, spoke on condition of anonymity. Khair's funeral quickly turned into a protest, with thousands chanting: "We are all Ahmed!"

Activists say this raises the death toll of the ongoing protests, which were triggered by increasing economic hardship on Dec. 19, to 53.