Though it is unclear which side was behind the attack, five children were among those killed by airstrikes in Sudan. Meanwhile, medics in Chad have complained of the "overwhelming" influx of wounded people from Darfur.Airstrikes hit the Sudanese capital of Khartoum on Saturday, killing at least 17 people as the fighting between the military and the paramilitary group Rapid Support Forces (RSF) entered its third month.

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Local volunteers and the Khartoum Health Ministry said the dead included five children. The strikes on the Yarmouk district of the Mayo area of southern Khartoum also destroyed some 25 homes.

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The fighting, ongoing since April 15, has left hundreds dead and thousands more injured. Over 2 million residents have fled to safer areas within Sudan or crossed into neighboring countries.

Clashes have intensified after a frail cease-fire expired last week. It was the latest of several others brokered to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid, yet without managing to completely quell the fighting.

What do we know about the latest strikes?

The impoverished, densely populated southern neighborhood has been in the crosshairs several times, especially in recent weeks.

Neither party gave an immediate comment after the strikes, which reportedly also injured 11, and it was not clear whether the attack was carried out by aircraft or a drone.

The Health Ministry shared a video showing the destroyed homes due to the strikes.

The Sudanese military has mobilized its air force against the RSF since the start of the conflict. The latter has been hiding in residential neighborhoods, where the military has been attacking them.

Top military general Yassir al-Atta warned civilians to steer clear of homes occupied by the RSF, in a speech on Friday.

"Because at this point, we will attack them anywhere," he said to cheers. "Between us and these rebels are bullets."

The RSF, meanwhile, reportedly used drones and anti-aircraft missiles to fight the army.

Darfur medics 'overwhelmed' by wounded

In neighboring Chad, medics have complained of the influx of wounded citizens fleeing Sudan's Darfur region. The region, which saw fighting amounting to war crimes and crimes against humanity two decades ago, has been among the most impacted by the latest conflict.

"We are overwhelmed in the operating theater. We urgently need more beds and more staff," said Seybou Diarra, physician and project coordinator in Adre, Chad for the Doctors Without Borders (MSF) charity.

At least 149,000 people have fled Darfur into neighboring Chad, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

The US State Department has put the death toll in West Darfur's state capital, Genena, at around 1,100 since the fighting erupted in mid-April.

Among the victims was West Darfur Governor Khamis Abdullah Akabar, the French AFP news agency reported. He was killed shortly after giving a television interview on Wednesday in which he criticized the RSF.

The paramilitary has denied responsibility for his death.

The US State Department has blamed the RSF "primarily" for the Darfur atrocities, warning that the violence witnessed in the volatile region was an "ominous reminder" of its previous genocide.

Sudan's ousted president Omar al-Basheer had used the Arab Janjaweed militia, from which the RSF later emerged, to quell Darfur's rebel uprising in 2003.

Local reports suggest the Janjaweed has been recently fighting alongside the RSF in Darfur.

rmt/sms (AFP, AP, Reuters)

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 17, 2023 10:00 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).