Khartoum, Jun 30 (IANS): The Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) on Sunday refuted the claim that the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) had taken control of Singa, the capital city of Sinnar State in central Sudan.

"Our forces in Singa are ... fighting the enemy with steadfastness and high morale," Nabil Abdalla, the SAF's spokesman, said in a statement, noting that the forces "are holding to their positions," reports Xinhua news agency.

Late Saturday, the RSF's spokesman Al-Fateh Qurashi announced on social platform X that the RSF fully controlled Singa and had seized all institutions in the city, including the state government's headquarters.

In the meantime, the Al-Sinnari Observatory, a local legal organisation, warned in a statement on Sunday of a new humanitarian catastrophe in the city.

"Singa has witnessed armed clashes and violent artillery shelling on a number of civilian objects and innocent citizens amid reports of casualties among civilians that are being counted," the statement said.

The observatory said thousands of citizens were displaced and moved towards the Blue Nile State in southern Sudan.

The clashes between the SAF and the RSF have been escalating over the past week in central Sudan, including in Gezira and Sinnar states and at the outskirts of Gedaref State in eastern Sudan.

Sudan has been embroiled in a deadly conflict between the SAF and the RSF since mid-April 2023, which has claimed more than 16,650 lives, according to the Sudan situation report updated by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs earlier this week.