GENEVA: Dozens of civilians have been killed by shelling and bombardments in and around Khartoum, the United Nations said Thursday, as fighting for control of the Sudanese capital intensifies.

The UN Human Rights Office demanded an end to the “lawlessness and impunity” in war-ravaged Sudan, where the SAF regular army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have been locked in a battle for power since April 2023. “We are receiving troubling reports of escalating violence against civilians in Khartoum, amid continued intense hostilities,” spokesman Seif Magango said in a statement.

“Dozens of civilians, including local humanitarian volunteers, have been killed by artillery shelling and aerial bombardment by the Sudanese Armed Forces and Rapid Support Forces in eastern Khartoum and north Omdurman since March 12.” The war has escalated in recent months, with the army seeking to reclaim territory in Khartoum and beyond.

Less than a kilometer now separates army units in central Khartoum from the presidential palace, overrun by RSF troops at the start of the war. Nearly two years of fighting have left large swathes of the capital unrecognizable.

Magango said credible reports indicated that the RSF and allied militia had raided homes in eastern Khartoum, carrying out summary killings and arbitrary detentions, and looted food and medical supplies from community kitchens and medical clinics.

The UN rights office has also received allegations of sexual violence in the Al Giraif Gharb neighborhood. Meanwhile SAF and affiliated fighters are also reported to have engaged in looting and other criminal activities in areas they control in Khartoum North and East Nile, Magango said, amid widespread arbitrary arrests in East Nile.

“We call once again on both parties—and all states with influence over them—to take concrete steps to ensure the effective protection of civilians, and to bring an end to the continuing lawlessness and impunity,” Magango said. The fighting has plunged Sudan into what the UN calls the world’s largest humanitarian catastrophe

South Sudan has carried out another air strike against civilians in the northwest of the country, critically wounding a child, a local official and witness said on Wednesday, amid fears of renewed conflict. Clashes in Nasir County, Upper Nile State, between forces loyal to President Salva Kiir and First Vice President Riek Machar have threatened to undermine their fragile peace-sharing agreement.

The attacks have drawn international concern, with the United Nations warning the escalating violence has displaced at least 50,000 people since February. County commissioner James Gatluak said the assault began at around 3.30 am local time (0130 GMT), when the South Sudan army dropped multiple bombs on Nasir town’s market and then a residential area. One woman was wounded, he said, with a young child in critical condition following the assault.

“The people that are being affected most are the women and the children,” he told AFP.

A Nasir resident, Jany Manytap, confirmed the attack and the wounded, adding: “The airstrike targets everyone.” Gatluak said the situation was “deteriorating” in Nasir, considered a stronghold of Machar’s supporters, with humanitarian staff evacuated as the violence has escalated. — AFP