KHARTOUM, Dec. 27 (Xinhua) -- Sudan's government on Thursday announced that 19 people were killed in the popular protests over the past week.

"The total number of the people who died is 19, two of them belong to the regular forces," Bushara Gumaa Aro, Sudan's information minister and government spokesman, said at a press conference in Khartoum.

He explained that 187 members of the regular forces and 219 civilians were wounded.

The Sudanese minister further accused foreign trends of politically exploiting the recent events, saying that the number of the people killed during the events were exaggerated.

Over the past week, various areas in Sudan, including Khartoum, have been witnessing popular protests over the deteriorating economic conditions and price hikes of basic commodities.