KHARTOUM, Aug. 16 (Xinhua) -- At least 31 people were killed, including seven children and a pregnant woman, and 13 others injured on Saturday in an attack by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in the city of El Fasher, western Sudan, according to volunteer groups.

The Sudan Doctors Network, a volunteer group, said in a statement that the RSF conducted a "heinous crime" by "deliberately targeting" the Abu Shouk displacement camp with artillery shelling.

The ongoing siege of El Fasher has caused critical shortages of medicine, medical staff, and food, "exposing thousands of displaced women and children to slow death," it warned.

The Abu Shouk Emergency Room said in a statement that "the northern side of the camp witnessed intense artillery shelling on Saturday," resulting in "more than 30 deaths."

Meanwhile, the Coordination of Resistance Committees in El Fasher, a volunteer group, said the RSF attack began early in the morning and continued past noon, sparking panic among civilians, triggering new displacement, and causing numerous casualties and significant damage to homes and infrastructure.

There has been no immediate comment from the RSF regarding the incident.

The conflict in Sudan erupted in April 2023 over a power struggle between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the RSF, devastating the country's infrastructure, killing tens of thousands, displacing millions, and creating a severe humanitarian crisis.

El Fasher, capital of the North Darfur state and the last major city in the vast Darfur region not under RSF control, has been the epicenter of the conflict and under siege by the RSF since May 2024. Enditem