Deadly attack strikes Khartoum market, leaving dozens dead

At least 35 people have been killed after a crowded market in Sudan's capital was hit with "explosive weapons", a medical charity said.

The Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) described it as "carnage", saying that more than 60 people had also been wounded in the attack. Local volunteers say a military aircraft bombarded the Qouro market in southern Khartoum on Sunday. Rival military factions have been fighting since April. 

On Sunday, MSF's emergency coordinator Marie Burton said Khartoum "has been at war for almost six months". "But still, the volunteers and medical personnel in Bashair hospital are shocked and overwhelmed by the scale of horror that struck the city" on Sunday, she added on X, formerly Twitter. 

The MSF said "explosive weapons" had hit the market and that air strikes and shelling continued in "another day of unthinkable suffering and loss of life". "We're trying to save the lives of people whose body parts have been ripped off by the explosion. It was a carnage," MSF added. 

Sudan plunged into a civil war in April after army chief Gen Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and the commander of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) Gen Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo fell out. 

About five million people have been forced to flee their homes, and thousands have been killed. Khartoum and the western region of Darfur have been worst hit by the conflict. The RSF controls much of Khartoum and the adjoining cities of Omdurman and Bahri. 

The military has repeatedly carried out air strikes in a bid to regain control of the cities. An air strike killed at least 20 people, including two children, about a week ago, activists said. 

The US, Saudi Arabia, and other countries have been trying to mediate an end to the conflict, with no success. Several ceasefires have been announced to allow people to escape the fighting but these have been broken.