Khartoum, Dec 5 (IANS): Sudan's Darfur region Governor announced that 20 civilians were killed in an attack by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on an area in North Darfur State.

"The RSF has committed a massacre in the Abu Zeriga area, south of El Fasher city, killing 20 civilians and injuring 20 others," Governor Minni Arko Minnawi said on Wednesday in a post on his Facebook page.

Minnawi said that the attack took place on Tuesday, Xinhua news agency reported.

He called on the international community and humanitarian organisations to send international investigation teams to document the crimes and work to bring the perpetrators to justice.

He further urged aid organisations to intensify efforts to provide humanitarian assistance to the affected population amid the deepening humanitarian crisis in the region.

In the meantime, the non-governmental Sudanese Doctors Network said the attack left 21 civilians killed and 13 others wounded.

The RSF has not issued any comment on the attack on the Abu Zeriga area.

Since May 10, fierce clashes have raged in El Fasher between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the RSF, which have been embroiled in a brutal conflict since mid-April 2023.

The ongoing war in Sudan has claimed the lives of over 27,120 people and displaced more than 14 million others, either within the country or abroad, according to estimates from international organisations.