KHARTOUM - Sudan braced Sunday for a mass protest in the capital against the country's ruling generals, as calls mounted for restraint to prevent a new military crackdown on demonstrators.

The planned "million-man" march is seen as a test for protest organizers who have been hit by a June 3 raid on a Khartoum sit-in and a subsequent internet blackout that has curbed their ability to mobilize support.

Dozens of demonstrators were killed and hundreds wounded when armed men in military fatigues stormed the sit-in outside army headquarters, shooting and beating protesters who had camped there since April 6.

The new protest comes at a time when Ethiopia and the African Union (AU) are jointly mediating between the protesters and generals.

A top general, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, warned Saturday that no vandalism would be tolerated.

"There are vandals, there are people who have an agenda, a hidden agenda, we don't want problems," said Dagalo, the ruling military council's deputy head and chief of the feared paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

Protesters have voiced fears of new violence.

"I expect large numbers... and it's very possible that security forces will use force against protesters," said Mustafa, 25, who gave only his first name for security reasons as he planned to participate.

Another protester, Talal, 29, was looking forward to Sunday's rally, the first since the crackdown.

"Even if only a few rallies take place in Khartoum, they will break the barrier of fear and more people will take to the streets in following days," he said.

The umbrella protest movement, the Alliance for Freedom and Change, said demonstrators will launch rallies from several areas in Khartoum and its twin city of Omdurman, and march to residences of some protesters killed in the June 3 raid.

About 130 people have been killed since the crackdown, the majority of them on that day, according to doctors close to the alliance.

The health ministry says 61 people died nationwide on that day. -AFP