At least 21 people killed hours after Sudan rejects UN call to safeguard civilians

Shelling killed at least 21 people at a market in southeast Sudan on Sunday, a day after the country’s rulers rejected a call by United Nations experts for an independent force to protect civilians from the devastating civil war.

The Sudan Doctors Network blamed the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) for the shelling, which happened in the town of Sennar. As well as the 21 killed, it said more than 70 people had been wounded in the attack.

The attack was just the latest in a bloody conflict that broke out in April last year between the army and paramilitary forces. It has already killed tens of thousands of people and triggered one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.

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Dam bursts in eastern Sudan, at least 30 dead and many missing

Dam bursts in eastern Sudan, at least 30 dead and many missing

Sunday’s market shelling came a day after Sudan’s foreign ministry rejected a call by independent UN experts for “an independent and impartial force with a mandate to safeguard civilians” to be deployed “without delay”.