Khartoum, 20 April 2023 (dpa/MIA) - Tens of thousands of people in Sudan's capital Khartoum are trapped in their homes as eyewitnesses confirmed continued heavy fighting between two rival military groups on Thursday.

A dpa reporter and eyewitnesses reported hearing air strikes and artillery fire in Khartoum.

Khartoum's airport and the military's general command were particularly badly hit, but heavy fighting continued across the country.

According to the United Nations, many homes have spent days without electricity or running water. Thousands of people have run out of basic supplies such as drinking water, food, petrol and medicine.

The health care system has essentially collapsed, said the Sudanese Medical Committee.

Eyewitnesses reported corpses lying on the streets of the capital.

Another ceasefire collapsed on Wednesday, marking the fourth failed attempt at getting the country's de facto president, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and his deputy, Mohammed Hamdan Daglo, to cease hostilities. Daglo is the leader of the powerful RSF paramilitary force.

International mediators have been trying for days to get the parties to the conflict to agree to cease hostilities in order to create humanitarian corridors.

The German aid organization Welthungerhilfe has now warned that the situation risks turning into a "humanitarian tragedy." On the sixth day of fighting between the military and paramilitaries, the humanitarian situation, which had already been difficult, was quickly deteriorating, they said on Thursday.

Even before the outbreak of violence, one in five people in Sudan were suffering from hunger, it said. The situation was particularly dire in the western region of Darfur.

"Families are running out of supplies and the water supply has collapsed, but every walk out the door is life-threatening. In addition, markets have been burned down and supply routes from the capital Khartoum are blocked," said Welthungerhilfe secretary general Mathias Mogge.

Hunger should not be used as a weapon, he said.

Mogge also deplored the attacks on aid workers in the country. "Humanitarian workers being targeted is a clear violation of international law," he said.

The need for a ceasefire to establish humanitarian corridors and provide people with basic necessities was urgent, he added.