Air strikes by the Sudanese army have killed at least 23 people and injured more than 40 others in the south of the capital Khartoum.
Saturday’s airstrikes targeted the main camp of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in southern Khartoum, hitting the central market and a nearby residential area.
The victims included traders, shoppers and local residents.
The RSF has fought the army in an 18-month civil war that has claimed up to 150,000 lives and displaced a fifth of Sudan’s population, according to UN estimates.
The injured are being treated in hospital, according to a spokesperson the Nobel Prize-nominated rescue network Emergency Response Rooms.
Emergency workers report that hospitals are overwhelmed by the number of injured people.
Since Friday, heavy fighting has escalated around Khartoum, largely controlled by the RSF, with the army intensifying airstrikes in the city’s center and southern belt.
Witnesses say the army is advancing towards Khartoum from nearby Omdurman, where clashes broke out on Saturday.
Earlier this week, the Sudanese government presented the UN Security Council with what it called new evidence that the United Arab Emirates is arming and supporting the RSF, and called for action against the Gulf state.
The UAE has long denied supporting the RSF.
Both the RSF and the Sudanese Armed Forces have been accused of committing atrocities.
“Relentless hostilities across the country have brought misery to millions of civilians, creating the world’s fastest-growing displacement crisis,” the UN warned last month.
It says Sudan is now “the world’s worst hunger crisis.”
Additional reporting by Natasha Booty and BBC Monitoring
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