Airstrike in Sudan kills 17, including five children

CAIRO (AP) — An airstrike in the Sudanese capital of Khartoum killed at least 17 people, including five children, on Saturday, health officials said, as fighting continued between rival generals trying to control the country.

It was one of the deadliest clashes in urban Khartoum and other parts of Sudan between the armed forces and the powerful Rapid Support Forces (FAR) paramilitary group.

It was not clear if it was a plane or drone attack. The Air Force has repeatedly attacked the FAR and they have responded with drones and anti-aircraft weapons.

The conflict in Sudan erupted in mid-April, after months of rising tensions between the armed forces and the FAR.

Saturday’s raid was in the Yarmouk neighborhood of Khartoum, where clashes have broken out in recent weeks, according to the Health Ministry. In the area there is a military installation controlled by the army. At least 25 homes were destroyed, the ministry said on Facebook.

The dead included five children and an unknown number of women and the elderly, and some wounded were hospitalized, the ministry said.

A local group calling itself The Emergency Room, which helps organize humanitarian aid in the area, said at least 11 people were injured. He posted images of damaged homes and people removing rubble. There were also images that he said were of an injured girl and man.

The FAR said in a statement that army planes bombed the area, killing or wounding civilians. They shot down a MiG fighter jet, they said. It was not possible to independently verify these claims.

A military spokesman did not respond to requests for comment.

The conflict has plunged the African country into chaos and turned Khartoum and other urban areas into battlefields. The paramilitary force has occupied homes and other civilian property since the start of the conflict, according to neighbors and activists.

The clashes have killed hundreds of civilians and injured thousands. More than 2.2 million people have fled their homes to safer places in Sudan or neighboring countries.