KHARTOUM, Sudan 

At least 21 civilians were killed and dozens of others injured in artillery shelling by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on a market in Sinnar city in central Sudan, the Sudanese Doctors Network said Sunday.

“Some 21 people were killed and more than 70 others were injured due to artillery shelling by the Rapid Support Forces on the Sinnar market on Sunday evening,” said the network in a statement.

It condemned “the massacre carried out by the RSF against civilians in Sinnar by targeting areas where people gather in markets, leading to significant casualties among unarmed civilians.”

On June 24, the RSF attacked Sinnar state and took control of several of its cities.

Since mid-April last year, the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the RSF have been engaged in a war that has resulted in more than 20,000 deaths and nearly 10 million displaced persons and refugees, according to the United Nations.

There are growing calls by the international community and the UN to end the war to prevent a humanitarian disaster that is pushing millions towards famine and death due to food shortages caused by the fighting, which has spread to 13 out of 18 states.

*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala