Hundreds killed in attacks on refugee camps and towns by Sudanese paramilitaries

Paramilitary rebels in Sudan have embarked on a killing spree, murdering more than 200 civilians in a wave of attacks in refugee camps and around the city of El Fasher, the last big city in the Darfur region still in the hands of the Sudanese army.

- Patrick Wintour

The deaths include at least 56 civilians killed by the rebel Rapid Support Forces (RSF) over two days of attacks in the town of Um Kadadah.

The violence is some of the worst in the Darfur region since the civil war between the army and the rebels began almost exactly two years ago.

The UN said killings were continuing at two displacement camps, including the wiping out of the entire medical staff of Relief International, which was operating the only remaining clinic inside Zamzam camp. RSF forces were said to be burning buildings throughout Zamzam yesterday, claiming they were seeking Sudanese government fighters.

The US has sanctioned both sides in the war, saying the RSF has "committed genocide" in Darfur and the army has attacked civilians.

The conflict has split Sudan in two, with the army holding sway in the north and east, while the RSF controls most of Darfur in the west and parts of the south. It has killed tens of thousands, uprooted more than 12 million and created what the International Rescue Committee described as "the biggest humanitarian crisis ever recorded".

The latest deaths put extra pressure on David Lammy, the UK foreign secretary, to deliver a decisive response when he convenes a ministerial conference on Sudan in London tomorrow, bringing together 20 countries and organisations.