"We have reopened the road at the request of our Beja leaders who have had contacts with the government," Sidi Moussa, one of the organisers of the protest, told AFP.

The protesters are from among the Beja people, who were angry that representatives who signed Saturday's agreement with the government came from the rival Beni Amer tribe.

They had since Sunday blockaded the docks and highway linking Port Sudan, the transit point for most of the country's foreign trade, to the rest of the country.

The blockade of the docks remains in place.

The Beja consider themselves the true natives of the region and accuse the signatories of the peace agreement of belonging to the Beni Amer.

"We're carrying out this action because those who signed (the agreement) do not represent the east of Sudan and because the text (of the deal) does not take into consideration our point of view," Moussa told AFP on Monday.

Security forces did not intervene.

But Sudan's Security and Defence Committee, the country's highest security body, said that while it respected the right for people to protest, it "must not come at the expense of vital facilities, such as the closure of national roads and ports, because of their impact on the national economy."