ROCKETS hit a market in Sudan’s capital, Khartoum, killing 18 people and leaving more than 100 wounded, doctors and residents say.
The fighting between rival military forces comes as truce talks mediated by the US and Saudi Arabia collapsed.
Wednesday’s violence around a market in Mayo in the south of Khartoum included artillery fire and aerial bombardment.
It caused the most civilian casualties in a single incident in the capital since the war began in April.
This brings the civilian death toll over seven weeks to at least 883, according to official counts – though the real number is likely to be far higher.
Neighbourhood organisations – which have been helping Khartoum’s residents get food and medicine – described it as a catastrophic situation and appealed for doctors and blood donations.
With so much of the violence taking place in urban areas civilians are in constant danger.
On Tuesday, the army and its rivals from the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) had agreed to extend last week’s humanitarian ceasefire deal for another five days, in talks brokered by the US and Saudi Arabia.
But the next day the army withdrew from the talks, alleging the RSF was not committed to the terms.
The US says both sides have violated the ceasefire – adding it remained ready to help mediate a truce when they were serious about ending the violence.
The ceasefire had allowed some urgent aid to reach around two million people, but the continued insecurity had “prevented delivery to many more and blocked operations to restore essential services”, a US State Department spokesperson said.
New sanctions have also been announced by the US Treasury Department aimed at cutting vital funding to the two warring sides.
