KHARTOUM, Sudan/ISTANBUL (AA) – Several people were killed and injured when the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) bombed the city of Dilling in Sudan’s South Kordofan state on Friday, medics said.

Witnesses said the RSF and the allied Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) shelled several neighborhoods in the city.

Medics said several people were killed and injured, without giving an exact figure.

According to witnesses, the Sudanese army responded with artillery fire targeting the RSF positions northeast of the city.

Local media earlier reported that the RSF and SPLM–N deployed military reinforcements near the city.

There was no immediate comment from the warring rivals on the report.

On Thursday, at least six people, including a child, were killed in artillery shelling by the SPLM on Dilling, which remains under a tight siege by the RSF.

Fighting has escalated in the three Kordofan states in recent weeks, forcing thousands of civilians to flee for safety.

The RSF captured El-Fasher, the capital of North Darfur state, on Oct. 26 and committed massacres against civilians, according to local and international organizations, amid warnings that the assault could entrench the geographical partition of Sudan.

Since April 15, 2023, the Sudanese army and the RSF have been locked in a war that regional and international mediations have failed to end. The conflict has killed thousands of people and displaced millions of others.