At least 56 people were killed in Sudan after artillery shelling and air strikes hit a crowded vegetable market in Omdurman, officials stated.
The Health Ministry reported that 158 others were wounded in the attack, which was blamed on the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
Witnesses described a scene of devastation, with bodies strewn across the market and survivors scrambling for safety.
“This criminal act adds to the bloody record of this militia,” government spokesperson Khalid al-Aleisir said, condemning the attack as a violation of international humanitarian law.
Eyewitnesses said the shelling came from areas in western Omdurman controlled by the RSF and was supported by drones.
Residents described intense bombardment in multiple streets, with rockets and artillery shells falling in quick succession.
“The shells fell in the middle of the vegetable market, that’s why there are so many victims and wounded,” a survivor told local media.
Medical staff at al-Nao Hospital reported being overwhelmed by the number of wounded, as emergency teams struggled to treat victims.
A volunteer at the hospital said they were in desperate need of “shrouds, blood donors, and stretchers” to transport the injured.
In a separate incident in Khartoum, two civilians were killed and dozens wounded in an air strike targeting an RSF-controlled area, according to the local Emergency Response Room (ERR).
The war between Sudan’s army and the RSF erupted in April 2023 over the integration of the two forces.
It has since claimed tens of thousands of lives, displaced millions, and pushed half of Sudan’s population into hunger.
The latest attack came a day after RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Daglo pledged to recapture the capital from the army.
“We expelled them [from Khartoum] before, and we will expel them again,” he said in a rare video address to his troops.
Sudan’s army has recently reclaimed several key bases in Khartoum, including its pre-war headquarters, forcing the RSF into the city’s outskirts.
The violence has turned Sudan’s capital into a battlefield, with entire neighbourhoods abandoned and fighters taking control of key areas.
The United Nations estimates that 3.6 million people have fled Khartoum, while at least 106,000 are suffering from famine in the city.
The attack on Omdurman adds to growing fears of an escalation in the conflict, with civilians continuing to bear the brunt of the violence.
