Khartoum, 8 August 2023 (dpa/MIA) - In Sudan's capital region, at least 20 civilians were killed during heavy fighting between the Sudanese army and the rival paramilitary militia, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

Several people were also injured in the attacks in the city of Omdurman, which borders the capital Khartoum, the Sudanese Ministry of Health said on Tuesday.

The nearby hospital lacked essential medical supplies such as blood. The country's healthcare system is close to a complete collapse after months of fighting.

War broke out in Sudan in mid-April following a long-simmering power struggle between de facto president Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and vice president Mohammed Hamdan Daglo.

The two generals had originally seized power together in 2021 but then became rivals.

The fighting is concentrated in Khartoum and the neighbouring cities as well as in the Darfur region in the west of the country.

The parties to the conflict often fight near residential areas.

A series of truces, brokered by Saudi Arabia and the United States, have largely failed to hold amid a growing humanitarian crisis.

According to the United Nations, there have been at least 53 attacks on health facilities in Sudan since the beginning of the conflict.

Some 3 million people in the north-east African country have been displaced since the fighting began up to the beginning of August, according to UN figures.

Furthermore, about 880,000 people have fled across the border to neighbouring countries.

Photo: EPA