KHARTOUM, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- The death toll from shelling by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on Saturday on a crowded market in Omdurman, north of the Sudanese capital Khartoum, has risen to 54, Sudan's Ministry of Health announced.

The attack by the Rapid Support Forces on the Sabrein Market was the latest in a series of deadly attacks in the escalated civil war that has wrecked the northeastern African country.

Since April 2023, the paramilitary RSF has been at war with the regular army, in a brutal conflict that has killed tens of thousands and uprooted over 12 million.

There was no immediate comment from the Rapid Support Forces. The Sudanese government condemned the attack, saying that the casualties included many women and children.

An attack on an open market in the Sudanese city of Omdurman by a paramilitary group fighting the country's military killed 54 people and wounded many more, health authorities said Saturday. The attack by the Rapid Support Forces on the Sabrein Market also wounded at least 158 others,