According to a statement released by a group of pro-democracy attorneys, more than 20 persons were killed on Sunday when shells struck a market in a neighbourhood of Khartoum, the capital of Sudan.

The conflict between army head Abdel Fattah al-Burhan’s men and his former deputy, Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, who is in charge of the Rapid Support men (RSF), has resulted in bloodshed on several occasions since April.

According to a statement from the committee for pro-democracy lawyers, following a fierce gunfight between the two sides, the shells struck the Omdurman market.

The statement, relayed to AFP, stated that “more than 20 civilians have been killed and others have been wounded.” The committee monitors civilian casualties and rights breaches that occur during the conflict.

According to a medical source, 15 civilians were killed on Saturday when shells struck houses in Khartoum.

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There have been intense battles between the two sides in Omdurman on several occasions.

Witnesses claim that although the conflict had previously mostly been confined to the capital and the western region of Darfur, it has now extended to places south of Khartoum.

A conservative estimate by the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project puts the number of deaths from the Sudanese conflict at over 10,000 so far.

Aid organisations and medical professionals have cautioned, however, that the true death toll is higher than officially reported, as many of the injured and deceased never make it to cemeteries or hospitals.

The United Nations estimates that 5.5 million people have fled the conflict, both inside Sudan and across international borders.