CAIRO — On Sunday, a drone strike targeted an open market south of Khartoum, the capital of Sudan, resulting in the tragic deaths of at least 43 individuals, as reported by activists and a medical organization. Simultaneously, a power struggle unfolds between the military and a formidable rival paramilitary group vying for control of the nation.

The attack took place in Khartoum's May neighborhood, an area heavily contested by paramilitary forces and the military, leading to over 55 people sustaining injuries, according to the Sudan Doctors' Union. The wounded were promptly transported to Bashair University Hospital. Footage shared on social media by the Resistance Committees, an activist group involved in humanitarian efforts, displayed bodies covered in white sheets in the hospital's open yard.

Since mid-April, Sudan has been gripped by escalating violence stemming from tensions between the military, led by Gen. Abdel Fattah Burhan, and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, commanded by Gen. Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo. The RSF attributed Sunday's attack to the military's air force, but independent verification of this claim remains elusive. In contrast, the military asserted that it did not intentionally target civilians, dismissing the RSF's allegations as "false and misleading."

Sudan's conflict frequently witnesses indiscriminate shelling and airstrikes by both sides, rendering the Greater Khartoum area a battleground. The conflict has now spread to various regions of the country. In the Greater Khartoum area, which encompasses Khartoum, Omdurman, and Bahri, RSF troops have occupied civilian residences, converting them into operational bases. In response, the military has reportedly bombed these residential areas, a fact attested to by human rights organizations and activists.

In the western Darfur region, which witnessed a genocidal campaign in the early 2000s, the conflict has transformed into ethnic violence, with the RSF and allied Arab militias targeting ethnic African communities, as reported by rights groups and the United Nations. Over the weekend, intense clashes erupted in al-Fasher, the capital of North Darfur province, following an RSF attack on a military facility, according to local media accounts.

Clementine Nkweta-Salami, the U.N. humanitarian coordinator in Sudan, expressed deep concerns about the situation in al-Fasher. She used the platform formerly known as Twitter to call for an immediate halt to hostilities by the warring factions, emphasizing the need to provide essential supplies like food, medicine, and shelter to those in dire need.

The ongoing war has claimed the lives of more than 4,000 individuals, as per August data from the United Nations. Nevertheless, doctors and activists maintain that the actual death toll is likely much higher. The number of internally displaced persons has nearly doubled since mid-April, reaching a staggering 7.1 million people, according to the U.N. refugee agency. Furthermore, approximately 1.1 million people have become refugees in neighboring countries, according to recent figures from the International Organization for Migration.

Chad has received the majority of these refugees, totaling around 465,000 individuals, primarily from West Darfur province, where the RSF and its Arab militias have conducted devastating attacks on non-Arab tribes in the provincial capital of Geneina and its environs, as verified by the U.N. and human rights organizations.