Residents of Khartoum awoke Sunday to artillery and rocket fire, hours after an air strike in the city's south killed at least 20 civilians including two children, according to Sudanese activists.

"The death toll from the aerial bombardment" in southern Khartoum "has risen to 20 civilian fatalities," according to a statement by the neighbourhood's resistance committee. They are among many volunteer groups that used to organise pro-democracy demonstrations and now provide assistance to families caught in the crossfire between the army and paramilitary fighters.

In an earlier statement, they said the victims included two children, and warned that more fatalities went unrecorded, as "their bodies could not be moved to the hospital because they were severely burned or torn to pieces in the bombing".

Since war began between the regular army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces on 15 April, around 5,000 people have been killed, according to estimates from the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data project.

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The Sudanese Armed Forces control the skies and have carried out regular air strikes while RSF fighters dominate the streets of the capital.

The army has also been accused of abuses, including a 8 July air strike that killed around two dozen civilians.

One step away from famine

Nearly five months in, the violence shows no signs of abating.

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