SUDAN'S paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have killed more than 30 people in an attack on a city in the western Darfur region, according to activist group the Resistance Committees.  

Sunday’s offensive against el-Fasher, the capital of North Darfur province, was the latest deadly violence in an area that is home to hundreds of thousands of displaced people.

Dozens were also wounded in the attack by the RSF and allied militias, said the Resistance Committees.

The RSF renewed its attack on Monday, shelling residential buildings and open markets in the city, the activist group said.

El-Fasher is under the control of the military, which has fought the RSF since Sudan descended into civil war more than two years ago.

The conflict has now killed more than 24,000 people, according to the United Nations, though activists say the true number is probably far higher.

The RSF has been attempting to seize el-Fasher for a year to complete its control of the entire Darfur region. It has launched many attacks on the city and two major famine-hit camps for displaced people on its outskirts.

The city is now estimated to be home to more than one million people, many displaced by the ongoing war and previous violence in Darfur.

The RSF grew out of the notorious Janjaweed militias, which were mobilised two decades ago by then president Omar al-Bashir against populations that identify as central or east African in Darfur. The Janjaweed were accused of mass killings, rapes and other atrocities.

Sunday’s violence came less than a week after a two-day attack by the RSF and allied militias on the city and the Zamzam and Abu Shouk camps killed more than 400 people, according to the United Nations.