An airstrike by the army has happened at an open market in southern Khartoum, killing at least 40 civilians and injuring dozens of others.
Activists and medical workers said this attack came as a war between government troops and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) nears the end of its fifth month.
Stay up-to-date on the latest news with The National Briefing – keeping you in the loop with news as it hits:
On Sunday morning, drones carried out a series of airstrikes on southern Khartoum. A witness who saw the attack told Reuters that a large district of the city was occupied mainly by the RSF.
Images shared by the Southern Khartoum Emergency Room (SKER), a group of local volunteers, revealed numerous casualties, including injured individuals and what appeared to be bodies covered in cloth.
Due to the shortage of adequate medical facilities, the injured had to be transported using rickshaws and donkey carts.
Both the RSF and the Sudanese army have accused each other of responsibility for the attack.
The Sudanese army maintains that its attacks target enemy forces, while the RSF accuses the military of conducting airstrikes and other attacks in residential areas.
Brigadier-General Nabil Abdallah said: “We only aim our attacks at the enemy’s groupings and stations in different areas.”
The ongoing conflicts between the two factions in western Omdurman led to the deaths of at least 51 people over two days.
Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), which operates Bashair hospital in southern Khartoum, reported that at least 60 people were wounded in the attack on the crowded Gorro market.
Doctors had stopped trying to count as they operated on torn body parts.
Emergency coordinator Marie Burton said: “Khartoum has been at war for almost six months. But still, the volunteers … are shocked and overwhelmed by the scale of horror that struck the city today.”
The army and RSF started the battle on April 15 after growing tensions over the integration of their troops in a new transition to democracy.
Subscribe to The Briefing, Australia’s fastest-growing news podcast on Listnr today. The Briefing serves up the latest news headlines and a deep dive into a topic affecting you. All in under 20 minutes.