Eyewitnesses in the village told AFP the Rapid Support Forces, at war with the army since April 2023, attacked the village on Tuesday evening.

"The attack resumed this morning," one eyewitness said by phone Wednesday, adding that paramilitary fighters were looting property.

"All 40 people suffered direct gunshot wounds," the medic told AFP from Wad Rawah Hospital, just north of the village. They requested anonymity for their own protection after repeated attacks on medical personnel.

The incident is the latest in a wave of escalating violence between the regular Sudanese army and the RSF in Al-Jazira state following the defection of a key paramilitary commander to the army last month.

Over 340,000 people have been displaced from the state since October, according to the United Nations.

UN Secretary-General spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said on Friday that the violence in Al-Jazira "is putting the lives of tens of thousands of people at risk".

The war between the RSF and the regular army has already killed tens of thousands of people across the country, and uprooted over 11 million people, more than 3 million of whom have fled across Sudan's borders.