Dozens of people have been killed in a drone strike at a displacement shelter in el-Fasher, a besieged Sudanese city on the brink of collapse, activists said.

The resistance committee for el-Fasher, made up of local citizens and activists, reported that the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) struck the Dar al-Arqam camp, located within a university, with two drone strikes and eight artillery shells. The RSF has denied it carried out the strike.

Children, women and the elderly were killed in cold blood, and many were completely burned, a statement from the group said.

Eyewitnesses described scenes of panic as rescuers pulled bodies from the rubble.

Sudan Doctors Network confirmed that 57 people were killed in the drone attack, including 17 children, with 17 more injured. Local activists estimated the death toll to be at least 60.

Hospitals, already struggling under months of siege, have been overwhelmed, with physicians treating the wounded on floors and corridors.

The RSF has surrounded el-Fasher for the last 17 months, trying to gain control of the Sudanese army's last stronghold in the Darfur region.

The situation in el-Fasher has gone beyond disaster and genocide, the resistance group expressed.

Sudan has been ravaged by conflict since 2023, following a power struggle between top commanders of the RSF and the Sudanese army, culminating in one of the worst humanitarian crises.

The army still controls most of the north and east, while el-Fasher remains the last significant urban center in Darfur under government control. If el-Fasher falls, the RSF will control the entire Darfur region, aiming to establish an alternative government.

In recent weeks, the RSF has intensified its assault on el-Fasher, leading experts to anticipate the city's imminent fall unless the army receives crucial reinforcements.

Research showed that the RSF had completed constructing an earthen wall around el-Fasher, intensifying their siege and making it increasingly difficult for civilians to escape.

The UN reported that around 250,000 civilians are trapped in el-Fasher and warned that continued attacks on civilian areas could result in war crimes.

As hunger and disease spread throughout the city, residents continue to suffer under constant bombardment and dwindling food and medical supplies.

Two days ago, at least 13 individuals were killed when the RSF shelled one of the last remaining hospitals in el-Fasher.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk condemned the ongoing killings and injuries to civilians, stating, I am appalled by the RSF's endless and wanton disregard for civilian life.

More than 150,000 people have lost their lives in the conflict nationwide, and approximately 12 million have been displaced from their homes.