KHARTOUM, Sudan 

The Sudanese Foreign Ministry has accused the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) of committing a "massacre" by killing 40 civilians in southeastern Sudan.

In a statement on Monday, the Foreign Ministry said the RSF gunmen in the past few days "carried out a new aggression on different areas in the Sennar State, including the villages of the Jebel Moya area, that left 40 defenseless civilians killed."

It added that the RSF attacks across the Sennar State caused new waves of displacement after the people were forcibly evacuated from their areas.

The Foreign Ministry accused the RSF of turning the main hospital in Sinjah city, the capital of Sennar State, into a military barracks.

The RSF is yet to comment on the Foreign Ministry's accusations.

On Sunday, the Sudanese army said its forces are fighting the RSF in Sinjah, pushing people to flee their areas.

The conflict in Sudan that started in April 2023 has resulted in more than 16,000 deaths, displaced nearly 10 million people, and left over 25 million in need of humanitarian assistance, making it one of the world's largest displacement and hunger crises, according to the UN.

Sudan has been mired in fighting between the army, led by Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, who is the head of the ruling Sovereign Council, and the RSF paramilitary group.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar in Ankara