KHARTOUM, July 9 (AFP) - An air raid on a Sudanese city has killed at least 22 people, health authorities said, in one of the deadliest attacks yet in the weeks-long fighting between Sudan’s army and a renegade paramilitary force.
The raid took place on Saturday in a residential area of Omdurman, the neighbouring city of the capital Khartoum, according to a statement by the health ministry.
The attack, which wounded an unspecified number of people, drew immediate condemnation from the United Nations.
It was one of the deadliest of the clashes in urban areas in the capital and elsewhere between the military and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
Last month, an air raid killed at least 17 people, including five children, in Khartoum.
The RSF, which said the attack killed 31 civilians, blamed the army for attacking residential areas in Omdurman where fighting has raged between the warring factions. The military reportedly attempted to cut off a crucial supply line.
The RSF “vehemently condemn the deliberate air strikes conducted by the extremist terrorist militia led by [army chief Abdel Fattah] al-Burhan”, the group said in a statement.
“This heinous attack, orchestrated by the Sudanese Armed Forces [SAF] with the support of remnants from the former regime … has resulted in the tragic loss of more than 31 lives and numerous civilian injuries,” it added.
A spokesman for the military was not immediately available for comment.