At least 127 people, mostly civilians, were killed in Sudan by barrel bombs and shelling from warring sides on Monday and Tuesday, rights activists said.
The 20-month-old war between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) is becoming increasingly bloody as ceasefire efforts stall and crises elsewhere capture the world’s attention.
The army has stepped up airstrikes in the half of the country controlled by the RSF, while the RSF has launched raids on villages and intensified artillery attacks. Both have targeted densely populated civilian areas.
The pro-democracy al-Fashir Resistance Committee said a market in the North Darfur town of Kabbaya was hit with more than eight barrel bombs on Monday. Emergency Lawyers, a human rights group, said more than 100 people were killed and hundreds were injured.
The army has frequently targeted towns in North Darfur with airstrikes as it battles the RSF for control of the state capital al-Fashir, its last stronghold in the region.
It denied responsibility for the attack on Kabakabiya, while insisting that it had the right to target any location used by the RSF for military purposes. RSF did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
An image shared by emergency lawyers showed covered bodies in a mass grave.
Video verified by Reuters showed bloodied bodies scattered around the market. It also showed fires burning and people being pulled out of the debris of shops and fruit stands.
In the footage, people can be heard crying and screaming, while others are praying for those killed. A man is heard saying, “People are dying in bulk”.
The video also shows armed men wearing the headgear that RSF soldiers usually wear on motorcycles.
An activist from Kabakabia said that, while there were generally some soldiers in the market and other parts of the city, the majority of them were civilians.
He said 87 bodies had been identified, but some were so burnt or mutilated that they could not be identified.
On Tuesday, the RSF aimed heavy artillery fire at the army-controlled sector of Omdurman, part of Khartoum state, residents said.
Emergency lawyers said at least 20 people were killed, including at least 14 who were on the bus that crashed. The military-controlled state government said 65 people had been killed, and other casualties were transferred to nearby al-Naw hospital.
Images circulating on social media, which were not confirmed by Reuters, showed bodies wrapped in shrouds on the road amid vehicle debris.
The United Nations has said more than 30 million people are in need of aid, and about 12 million have fled their homes.
A state of famine has been declared in the Zamzam camp in North Darfur, where seven people were killed in shelling on Tuesday, according to Adam Rozal, spokesman for the Coordination Committee for Displaced People.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
