New attack in Sennar: Humanitarian crisis in Sudan worsens

At least 31 people have been killed and 100 injured since the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces launched a fresh attack on the town of Sennar in southeastern Sudan, a rights activists group reported on Sunday. Several parts of the town, including the main market, were shelled by RSF artillery, according to Emergency Lawyers, a group that monitors civilian casualties and other humanitarian violations.

The RSF, which already controls most of Sennar and half of the country, has made slow progress in the southeast as heavy rains hampered freedom of movement. The ongoing conflict with the Sudanese army has led to the world's worst hunger and internal displacement crises, killing tens of thousands and destroying Sudan's infrastructure and economy.

Emergency Lawyers also reported that the army killed at least four people in airstrikes in al-Souki, a nearby town. The RSF killed one person and wounded 17 in artillery attacks on el-Obeid, another town it has little full control over. Both sides in the 18-month civil war have committed acts that could constitute war crimes, according to a United Nations-mandated mission that called for peacekeepers and a nationwide arms embargo.

On Saturday, the Foreign Ministry, which is allied with the Sudanese army, rejected these recommendations and described the proposal for international peacekeeping troops as “the wish of Sudan's enemies” and assured that it would not be put into practice.

(With contributions from agencies.)