Eight people were killed and 16 others injured in armed clashes in Sudan’s northern city of Al Dabbah, a Sudanese medical group said on Wednesday.

In a statement, the Sudan Doctors Network said the clashes erupted on Tuesday evening in the city’s market between local factions, without specifying their identity or the cause of the confrontation.

Sudanese media, citing the Al Debbah city security committee, said the clashes involved groups accused of drug trafficking.

There was no official statement on the violence or the groups involved.

Escalating lawlessness

The network warned of escalating lawlessness and the proliferation of weapons among civilians in the city and called on the Sudanese authorities to launch an urgent investigation into the violence and hold those responsible accountable.

Sudan has been engulfed in conflict since April 2023, when fighting erupted between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) over plans to integrate the paramilitary force into the military.

The war has triggered one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises, killing tens of thousands and displacing millions of others.